Trio of Grizzlies lead the way in victory
A number of takeaways from win over Wizards
It took an impressive second-half spurt and contributions from multiple players for the Memphis Grizzlies finally put away the pesky Washington Wizards, 107-95 at FedExForum Tuesday night.
Memphis started the third quarter on an 18-1 run that ballooned their lead up to 18, but the Wizards fought back at the end of the quarter to cut the advantage to just seven before the start of the final 12 minutes.
Memphis edged Washington from there, outscoring the Wizards 29-23 in the fourth quarter.
Here's what we learned in Memphis' close win against the Wizards.
Conley, Gasol and Temple
Garrett Temple scored a team-high 20 points and added seven rebounds Tuesday.
But Mike Conley and Marc Gasol weren't far behind. Conley scored 19 points with seven assists, while Gasol also scored 19 and grabbed five rebounds.
"A lot of guys pay attention to Mike because he's so quick — obviously, Marc as well — because those are guys that have shown what they can really do in this league," Temple said. "Playing off those guys — obviously I've worked on my shot and continue to try to shoot the ball as well as I can."
Since arriving at Memphis, Temple has now scored 15 or more points in
three of his first six games, including a 30-point effort against Atlanta in the team's home opener.
Rabb plays with heavy heart
Second-year player Ivan Rabb played in just his second game for Memphis this season and made a significant contribution off the bench against the Wizards.
"I was playing with a heavy heart," Rabb said. "One of my friends was killed last night. So I tried to stay focused and just use that as motivation."
Immediately after entering the game, Rabb grabbed a rebound on the offensive end, scored two layups, and blocked a shot on defense.
With forward JaMychal Green likely out for a few more weeks with a broken jaw, Rabb could continue to see time as a role player.
"I'm on the floor a little bit less this year," Rabb said. "But I got on the floor a little bit more late last year and took advantage
Jackson's foul trouble continues
Jaren Jackson Jr. started the game in early foul trouble again Tuesday.
The rookie picked up a foul in the first two minutes and was called for two more before the end of the first half.
He re-entered the game at the start of the third quarter but was called for his second offensive foul (fourth personal) within the first minute.
"Some of the things that are being called against him I believe are marginal calls," Bickerstaff said.
"He's got to learn the techniques that we are teaching so that he doesn't pick up those fouls. But again, we want him to be aggressive. It's what he does. It's who he is by nature."
Jackson finished with a season-low four points to go with three rebounds in just 10 minutes. The first-round draft pick is averaging 16.3 points and seven rebounds when playing more than 25 minutes this season.