The Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies met at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Thursday for a late-season matchup.
The Grizzlies entered Thursday’s contest in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture with a 33-32 record and sitting as the 8th seed. They are coming off a 139-135 win in Memphis over the Timberwolves on Wednesday. The Grizzlies would look to bring the momentum from their Wednesday night win into Thursday’s contest with the Pistons. Ja Morant is the leader for the Grizzlies, averaging 19.4 points per game as well as 7.3 assists per game.
On the other hand, the Pistons entered Thursday night’s game with a four-game losing streak and a 19-47 record. They would look for a bounce-back game against the Grizzlies on Thursday. The Pistons’ leading scorer Jerami Grant would not play Thursday, so the Pistons would have to look for other sources of offense if they wanted to knock off the Grizzlies.
First Half
The Grizzlies opened up a 28-21 lead late in the first quarter; the Pistons would answer by going on a 10-4 run to end the first quarter. Corey Joseph scored or assisted on all 10 points scored by the Pistons on the late first quarter run. Joseph would end the first quarter with 8 points and 6 assists.
After the 10-4 run at the end of the first quarter, the Pistons had complete control of the rest of the first half. They would outscore Memphis 27-17 in the 2nd quarter to propel them to a 58-49 halftime lead.
The Pistons were on fire from the field, making 55.8% of their shots in the first half. They were able to hold the Grizzlies to just 41.2% from the field in the first half. Both teams made 7 three-point shots in the first half. The Pistons were a bit more efficient from deep, making 7 of their 17 attempts compared to the Grizzlies, who made 7 of their 21 attempts from deep.
The Pistons scoring was spread out in the first half. Wayne Ellington led the way with 12 points off the bench. Ellington made 4 shots from deep in the half. Sekou Doumbouya and Isaiah Stewart both scored 10 in the first half for the Pistons. Corey Joseph stuffed the stat sheet in the first half with 8 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists.
Ja Morant led the way for the Grizzlies in the first half. Morant scored 12 points and dished out 3 assists. Jonas Valanciunas and Jaren Jackson Jr. both added 8 points in the first half. Valanciunas also grabbed 8 rebounds in the half.
Second Half
The Pistons gained control of this game with their big second quarter and never looked back. After the break, both teams looked a bit sloppy, as the two teams combined for just 41 points in the third period. The Grizzlies were actually able to outscore the Pistons 21-20 in the third but still trailed 78-70 going into the final quarter.
The Grizzlies were able to hang around in the fourth quarter, even cutting the Piston’s lead down to 5 after two Jonas Valanciunas free throws with 4:26 to play. Corey Joseph answered on the other end by making a layup and extending the lead back to 7. The Pistons were able to make free throws down the stretch and hold on to beat the Grizzlies 111-97.
Piston’s Step Up
With leading scorer Jerami Grant out of the lineup the Pistons needed players to step up.
Corey Joseph and Wayne Ellington missed nearly two weeks of action before the game against the Grizzlies on Thursday. The Pistons have been allowing their young players to carry the load during the home stretch of the season. Things got a bit shaky with the veterans out of the rotation with the Pistons going on a 4-game losing skid.
The veterans returned to the lineup on Thursday, and the impact was evident.
Joseph came out of the gates ready to play as he scored 8 points as well as recording 6 assists in the first quarter. Joseph would finish the game with 18 points, 11 assists, and 4 rebounds.
Wayne Ellington also made a huge impact. Ellington came off the bench and finished with 18 huge bench points. Ellington made 6 of 10 shots from three-point range, the most threes he had made in a game since he made 8 on March 3rd.
The veterans were not the only ones who stepped up for the Pistons on Thursday. Pistons second-year forward Sekou Doumbouya also had a great game. Doumbouya was coming off a 20-point performance against the Hornets on Tuesday.
Doumouya was excellent again on Thursday. He finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and shot 50 percent from the field against the Grizzlies.
Rookie big man Isaiah Stewart also had a good outing against the Grizzlies. Stewart scored 15 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots.
Grizzlies Fall Short
Thursday’s game against the Pistons came off the heels of their game against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Fatigue might have been a factor for them Thursday night.
“Second night of a back-to-back, but that’s no excuse,” said Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jackson Jr. had a good game scoring 17 points off the bench for the Grizzlies. He also grabbed 5 rebounds, stole the ball 4 times, and made 3 shots from deep in 25 minutes.
Ja Morant was great, which seems to have become the norm. Morant scored 20, dished out 5 assists, and grabbed 3 rebounds.
Jonas Valanciunas and John Konchar also made good contributions to the Grizzlies in the loss. Valanciunas scored 19 points as well as grabbing 16 rebounds. Konchar scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds off the bench.
“I thought we had great urgency early in the game, and we just weren’t able to sustain it for 48 minutes,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
What’s Next?
The win ended the Piston’s 4-game losing streak and improved their record to 20-47, but they still sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. They will look to bring the momentum from this win into their next game on Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers. The loss dropped the Grizzlies to 33-33, and it also dropped them to 9th in the Western Conference. They will look to bounce back against the Raptors on Saturday.
