Valanciunas’ effort powers Grizzlies over the Wizards
Late in the fourth quarter Wednesday, a Grizzlies fan yelled from the stands: “Valanciunas, you doing your thing, dawg!”
Jonas Valanciunas did more than that in muscling and yelling his way through the Washington Wizards. He shook his arms and bounced off teammates as they celebrated his alley-oop dunk over Moe Wagner.
Before the game, he tweeted that he was recharged for the second half of the season. He ended up giving the Grizzlies a needed jolt in their 127-112 win at Fedexforum.
“It was four days without basketball so it was great to play basketball again,” Valanciunas said.
He finished with 29 points and 20 rebounds and Desmond Bane added a career-high 20 points as the Grizzlies (1716) swept the Wizards (14-21) this season.
Valanciunas sets second half tone
Valanciunas and Wagner exchanged words in the third quarter and both received technical fouls. It was just what he needed to get going.
After his dunk over Wagner, Valanciuas was fouled scoring on a layup and jumped up and down in celebration. He made the free throw and it sparked the Grizzlies to finish the period on a 16-6 run. The Grizzlies finished with 78 points in the pant as Valanciunas had his third 25-point, 20-rebound game, one shy of the franchise record held by Zach Randolph.
Respect Brooks defense or else
Dillon Brooks once again gave Wizards
all-star Bradley Beal a tough night. After Beal scored just 23 points in the team’s first meeting on March 2. Brooks and Justise Winslow helped hold the NBA’S leading scorer to just 21 points on 6-for-22 shooting.
Beal praised Brooks’ defense last week and called him a gritty defender. However, Brooks wasn’t thrilled at the compliment.
“I study a lot of these guys. Beal is a great scorer, I watch a lot of his film, just the way he moves when he scores, he’s one of the best,” Brooks said. “I just rise to the occasion and take on the challenge and see if he can last a full 48 (minutes) with a lot of physicality.”
Morant, Bane keep shining
Ja Morant’s 21-point, 10-assist night felt like a supporting note on a strong team effort. But it was how Morant got his points that’s signaling he might be getting more calls.
He had his highlights, including a nifty behind the back fake before a pass to Xavier Tillman.
But Morant shot at least 10 free throws for the third consecutive game, a first for the Grizzlies since Pau Gasol in 2006.
He made just 7-for-12, but he’s starting to get more notice — in a good way — from officials since he was ejected against the Clippers on Feb. 26.
As for Bane, his night started with two made 3-point attempts. The rookie finished with a career-high five 3-pointers and his final make came late in the fourth quarter on Morant’s 10th assist.
Up Next
The Grizzlies host the Denver Nuggets on Friday (7:00 p.m., Fox Sports Southeast). It’s the teams’ first meeting this season.