Jaren Jackson, Jr. against Kevin Durant on December 2, 2023 as the Grizzlies battled the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
Jaren Jackson Jr. played just 14 minutes and was benched due to foul trouble on Friday night in the Mavericks victory. He made amends by scoring a season-high 37 points in Saturday’s 116-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Jackson Jr. scored a game and season-high for Memphis on 13-of-21 shooting while adding seven rebounds, three steals, an assist, and a block. He was 6-of-6 from the field at the half. He has now scored in double figures in all but three games this season.
“Angles — it was all angles,” Jackson Jr. described what was working for him against the Suns. “That was all that was working. Just figuring out how to score tonight; just figuring it out and just driving. That is all I had going for me.”
Although his offensive output has been off this season, the one positive aspect of his offense has been Jackson Jr.’s ability to get to the free-throw line. He is getting to the line for 6.1 attempts per game so far this season and has become one of the league’s best at drawing fouls.
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins praised Jackson Jr. for his efforts against Phoenix. “I mean, this was a great game for him to bounce back from the other night, Jenkins said.
“But I’m really impressed with him just playing with force, physicality, and getting angles on guys one-on-one. Touch, finishing ability — it’s always been there.”
Jenkins continued: “And then, obviously, he unleashed it tonight. He knocked down threes, so [with] that inside-outside game that he’s capable of — stepping up to the free throw line, he had 10 free throws tonight, which is really impressive.”
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year was not pleased, however, with how things got away in the second half. He said, “They started scoring a little bit. Sometimes, good teams just keep going. We have to figure out a way to cut that off — we did not. They just got a big lead late, and that was kind of the problem.”
Desmond Bane finished with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting, five assists, and three rebounds for Memphis, even though he was limited in the first half due to foul trouble. Bane is averaging a career-best 23.8 points per game this season.
Vince Williams Jr. added 12 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes of action as a reserve. Williams Jr. nearly recorded his first double-double in a win against Dallas on Friday night, tallying 15 points (matching his career high) and a career-best nine rebounds.
For the Suns, Devin Booker (34) and Kevin Durant (27) combined to score 61, taking over the game for good in the second half. Durant said after the game, “That team over there (Memphis), they play extremely hard. They muddy up the game a lot. So from just playing them over the years, we knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game in the first half.”
He concluded, “Our defense was solid the whole game, and we were able to get out into transition and get some baskets to open the game up.”
The Suns used the free throw line to their advantage, getting to the line 19 more times than Memphis, finishing 35-for-43 while the Grizzlies finished 22-for-24 from the line.
The Magic Number is Six
There are six more games until Grizzlies All-Star guard Ja Morant is scheduled to return from his 25-game league suspension.
Up Next
Memphis will head to Detroit to take on the 0-17 Detroit Pistons at 6 p.m. CT at Little Caesars on Wednesday, December 6.
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