The Memphis Grizzlies Win Ugly At Home Against The Detroit Pistons

The Memphis Grizzlies had a rough night Monday but were still able to run away with the Detroit Pistons late en route to a 96-82 win. Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 26 points and 17 rebounds. After a slow opening half, the Grizzlies showed poise against the struggling Pistons in a fashion that reflects a team that is not a fluke - but an actual good team.

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The Memphis Grizzlies had a rough night Monday but were still able to run away with the Detroit Pistons late en route to a 96-82 win. Jonas Valanciunas led the Grizzlies with 26 points and 17 rebounds. After a slow opening half, the Grizzlies showed poise against the struggling Pistons in a fashion that reflects a team that is not a fluke - but an actual good team.

The Grizzlies struggled from the three-point line, going 2 of 17 for 11.8 percent.  The Pistons shot a lowly 34.7 percent overall from the field and 30.8 percent from three.  With the win, the Grizzlies were also able to bring their record back to .500 at 25-25 - two games ahead of the Portland Trailblazers and two and a half ahead of the San Antonio Spurs.

“Good win from our guys," Memphis Head Coach Taylor Jenkins said about his team's performance.  "It’s obviously kind of a funky game, both teams kind of struggling through it. Our defense wasn’t where it needed to be in the first half, especially that first quarter where we were giving up I think 36 points. Our guys locked in in that second half." 

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"I think we ended up with 12 blocks, which was a season-high for us," Jenkins added. "Multiple guys, even Kyle [Anderson] off the bench with two blocks… I thought our activity ratcheted up in that third quarter, that fourth quarter. It made their looks tough, especially with [Andre] Drummond around the rim. A lot of pressure on the rim, boards, post-ups, rolls—I thought our guys did a much better job compared to that first half." 

"We struggled offensively, it’s one of those nights," Jenkins said about their offensive woes.  "As I hit the guys, this is a great example—we’ve been scoring over 100 points a night for a while. To have to score in the 90s and lockdown defensively, that’s an impressive win. It was a grind-it-out affair. It’s going to happen some nights in the NBA, but really pleased with our effort and really dialing it up in that second half defensively.”

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Jaren Jackson Jr. finished the game with 14 points 5 rebounds and 3 blocks on the night and would speak on his personal performance and having to crank up his defense to offset his offensive struggles.

“It definitely raised when we realized what we were doing wrong in the first half, and just tried to key in on the objectives better and take away (Andre) Drummond, take away the rolls, and just help each other more on defense," said Jackson.  “We’ve got to rely on our defense every time because sometimes shots don’t fall. If our shots aren’t falling, we try to get to the basket. I was bricking, to speak for myself. I was bricking, so I had to get to the basket. Thankfully, Dillon (Brooks) hit some, Jae (Crowder) hit some I think. I may be tripping. I don’t know who hit some, but we hit enough to win so I was good.”

Ja Morant had 12 points 7 assists and 4 rebounds and he would also speak about his team's effort in spite of not having the best night offensively.

“Tonight was an ugly game. You have to win those games. But, it just shows that we can go and play both ways and get stops and score and close out a win.”

The Grizzlies now prepare to head on the road to take on the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.