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Postgame Report: Jonas Valanciunas leads Grizzlies past Hawks 118-101

Key Stat of the Night

  • The Grizzlies outscored the Hawks 38-18 in the first quarter. Memphis has won three different quarters by 20-or-more points this season, and all have come this week: 43-20 (+23) in the fourth quarter on March 2 at Atlanta; 36-14 (+22) in the fourth quarter on March 4 at Brooklyn; and 38-18 in the first quarter tonight.

Key Run of the Night

  • Memphis had two 7-0 runs in the first quarter to go ahead 26-9 with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter. The Grizzlies led by 38-18 at the end of the first quarter and led by as many as 26 points in the second quarter.

Game Recap

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Atlanta Hawks 118-101 on Saturday night inside FedExForum, where the Grizzlies have now won 15 of their last 18 games on their home court.

The Grizzlies got rolling early with Jonas Valanciunas leading the way in the first quarter. Valanciunas tallied 12 points and five rebounds on 5-of-5 shooting in the frame. Memphis used a 26-6 run to stretch their lead to 28-11 with 2:48 remaining in the first quarter. Josh Jackson scored 10 of his 17 points in the opening period, helping the Grizzlies to a 38-18 lead after one quarter of play. Memphis stretched their lead to as many as 26 in the second quarter at 60-34 following a put back from Valanciunas. The Grizzlies big man finished the first half 9-of-10 from the floor for 21 points, 10 rebounds and one block. Memphis carried a 66-45 lead in to the halftime break on 52 percent shooting while limiting Atlanta to just 29.8 percent shooting in the first half.

Atlanta scored the first seven points of the third quarter to cut the lead down to 14 points at 66-52 in the first 1:04 of the second half. The Grizzlies immediately pushed the lead back to 24 points thanks to strong play from their second unit. Atlanta ended the third period on a 13-4 run as they trimmed the Grizzlies lead to 93-78 following a three-pointer from Trae Young to end the quarter. Ja Morant entered the night ranked sixth in the NBA in fourth quarter scoring, and he showed why tonight, as he scored 10 of his 24 points in the final period to end all hopes of a Hawks comeback. Memphis cruised to a 17-point victory, improving their record to 7-3 on the second night of back-to-backs this season.

Valanciunas led the way for Memphis with 27 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks on 10-of-13 shooting as he posted his 32nd double-double of the season, which is good for 12th most in the NBA. Morant added 24 points, six assists and five rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting. Jackson led all bench scorers with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes. Kyle Anderson totaled 12 points, five assists and four rebounds. Dillon Brooks pitched in 13 points, four rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes as Memphis moved to 32-32 on the season.

John Collins posted 27 points, eight rebounds and three assists on 9-of-16 shooting to lead Atlanta. Young added 16 points (4-16 FG, 1-10 3P) as Memphis was able to contain him from behind the arc. Jeff Teague totaled 10 points, three assists and two rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Kevin Huerter added 11 points, six assists and five rebounds while knocking down 3-of-6 three-point attempts. Cam Reddish added nine points, two rebounds and an assists in 12 minutes as Atlanta fell to 19-46 on the year.

Next Game

The Grizzlies will return to the floor to face the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. inside FedExForum. Limited tickets are still available at ticketmaster.com and the FedExForum Box Office. Fans can watch the game on FOX Sports Southeast or listen on 92.9 FM ESPN.

Team Quotes

Player Notes

  • Ja Morant continue his NBA Rookie of the Year campaign with 24 points (8-12 FG), five rebounds and six assists while shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, tying a career best for threes made. Morant has shot 10-of-15 from three-point range (.667) in his last five games.
  • Jonas Valančiūnas totaled 27 points (10-13 FG) and 17 rebounds, including 21 points (9-10 FG) and 10 rebounds before halftime. Valančiūnas made his first nine field goal attempts tonight after making his final five shots last night at Dallas. His 14 consecutive makes (before missing a tip-in at the end of the first half tonight) were one shy of tying the franchise record of 15 straight by Marc Gasol over a two-game stretch from Nov. 14-18, 2009.
  • Josh Jackson scored 17 points off the bench. Jackson is averaging 17.0 points in his last four games, scoring at least 16 points in every game.
  • Two-way rookie guard John Konchar grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
  • Vince Carter played his final game in Memphis tonight. The 43-year-old Carter, currently playing his league-record 22nd NBA season, is the only player in NBA history to play in four different decades and spent three seasons with the Grizzlies from 2014-17.
  • John Collins led Atlanta with 27 points to go with eight rebounds in 39 minutes. Collins has scored at least 25 points 15 times in his 39 games this season.
  • Trae Young scored 16 points but was limited to 1-of-10 shooting from three-point range.

Fans who want to support the Memphis Grizzlies and purchase 2019-20 Season Tickets can do so by calling (901) 888-HOOP or going online to grizzlies.com. Single Game Tickets are available for purchase at the FedExForum Box Office, ticketmaster.com, online at grizzlies.com or by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX.

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