ANG Memphies ay nagpamalas ng malagkit na depensa, kinontrol sina Kahwi Leonard at Paul George at si Tyrus Jones ay nagtala ng career-high na 20 points at ang Los Angeles Clippers ginulat ng Grizzlies, 122-94.
Ang Clippers na pangalawa sa standings sa Western Conference ay dinaig ng mabilis na facing ng opensa ng Grizzlies at iginapos ang mga scorer ng kabilang team sa kanilang napakahigpit na depensa.
Si Dillon Brooks ay umiskor ng 19 points,sina Ja Morant at Jonas Valanciunas ay may tig-16 puntos sa panig ng Memphies habang si Kahwi ay nagtala ng mababang 17 points, at sina George at Serge Ibaka ay may tig-13 points para sa Clippers.
Ayon kay Leonard ang epektibong post play ng Memphies ang naging malaking factor sa kanilang panalo.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” wika pa ni Leonard.
Isinara ng Memphies ang first half sa 61-53 bago inumpisahang magpaulan ng mga puntos mula sa mabibilis nilang plays.
At ang Grizzlies ay nagsimula sa isang nakakagulat na pag-alagwa mula sa dulong bahagi ng third quarter hanggang sa dulo kung saan idiniin pa nila ang kanilang kalamangan sa 28 puntos/
“I feel like our energy was there,”pahayag ni Morant. “I feel like we were all locked in and out there competing. I feel like our talk was very high level. We knew our teammates had our back while guarding the ball. That led to some stops and we were able to get out and run.”
“Just urgency to defend the 3-point line,” wika ni Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins tungkol sa kanilang defense.. “That’s been something that has come in waves with our group over the course of the season.
“They got stops. They shrunk the floor on defense. It’s a young team. You can’t give a young team life to play in transition. They got out. They ran the floor. They just showed their athleticism,” pahayag ni George matapos ang laban.
