Riding a three-game win streak, the Memphis Grizzlies went into a home matchup against a struggling Charlotte Hornets squad with tons of confidence. Led by Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Luke Kennard each scoring 22+ points apiece, the Grizzlies got the job done but it was not easy.
Memphis came into the game well-prepared, jumping out to a 13-point lead after the first quarter and even held a 30-point lead at halftime.
That is where the Grizzlies’ success ended, as the Hornets came out after the break blazing. Charlotte outscored Memphis 72-54 in the second half, cutting the deficit tremendously but luckily the Grizzlies gave themselves enough of a cushion.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins was very critical of his team’s second-half performance but praised how they opened the game, calling it a “tale of two halves.”
“Luckily we did enough in the first half and we were able to survive the second half,” Jenkins said. “Too many free throws. Too many lackadaisical plays. Offense, defense, turnovers. We were definitely a tale of two halves. The team in the first half is reflective of who we wanna be. second half, not so much. great talk in the locker room afterward, and we gotta get better. Guys were definitely very upset with our performance in the second half.”
The Grizzlies nearly collapsed in the second half of Wednesday’s game, but thankfully they reached the final buzzer without the Hornets doing enough damage to complete the comeback.
Memphis now moves to 17-5 at home before they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, hopefully giving fans a battle of the top two picks from the 2019 NBA Draft in Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.
