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Jaren Jackson Jr. was not afraid of the big moment.
In a matchup that went down to the wire between the Rockets and the Grizzlies, tensions were high in the crowd due to a controversial timeout call that nullified a go-ahead bucket. It was then that the former DPOY took matters into his own hands.
Thirteen seconds on the clock, down one. Grizzlies ball. Luke Kennard to inbound.
Jackson caught the ball on the wing, put his shoulder down and went right at his former teammate, Dillon Brooks. He backed him down low and drew a foul, Brooks’ sixth, giving Memphis a chance to take the lead.
Jackson stepped up to the charity stripe and calmly made two free throws. After Fred VanVleet’s game-winning attempt fell short, the Memphis crowd went into a frenzy.
Jackson’s game-winning 21-point performance was the difference maker in Memphis’ gritty 120-119 victory against the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Kennard each scored 24 and 22 points respectively, with Bane putting up a double-double with 12 boards, a season-high.
“They’re really good on the offensive glass, you know just try to make it real scrappy. We feel like we got punked earlier in the year against them, so you know you got to stand your ground. You know, we did that,” Bane said after the game.
For Houston, who was without All-Star center Alperen Sengun due to a calf injury, Steven Adams and Tari Eason manned the paint, combining for 23 boards, 12 being on the offensive end. Despite leading for most of the fourth quarter, the Rockets could not pull away from the Grizzlies, who ended the game on a 13-4 run.
“We knew it was going to have to the fourth quarter. As the runs kept going back-and-forth, timeouts, stoppages, just the collective approach from the guys defensively, offensively. Their head-spaces were unbelievable just staying the course for 48 minutes,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said after the game. “Big time victory against a great team.”
Houston saw an efficient offensive effort across the board that saw Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Brooks score more than 20 points each. However, the Grizzlies executed down the stretch and snatched the victory away from Houston, who went ice-cold in the final two minutes of the game, shooting 0-3 from the field and turning the ball over once.
The win snapped the Rockets’ four-game winning streak and closed the gap between the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the Western Conference.
The Rockets play the Nets at home on Saturday, while the Grizzlies head to Milwaukee on Sunday.
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