The New Orleans Pelicans had no answer for Ja Morant and fell to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The New Orleans Pelicans were "manhandled" and no answer for Jay Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in a 132–111 loss.
The New Orleans Pelicans' second-place finish was no match for the Memphis Grizzlies, who fell 132–111 to the Jaa Morant-led team. New Orleans, coming out of an overtime defeat in Denver, was short-handed as Brandon Ingram was ruled out of the game with a right hamstring sore. CJ McCallum scored 32 points in 31 minutes, but it was not enough to keep the game close. Memphis is now leading the season series 2-1.
In a post-game press conference, Pelicans head coach Willie Greene said he was "disappointed" at his team's effort. Greene admitted that Memphis "cheated" his team and sharpened the ball all night. He attributed the defeat to lack of preparation and not a huge margin of talent.
Green explained, "I felt like they were one step faster than us for everything." "That ownership is on me. I have to do a better job of preparing my team to try and play against a really good team in Memphis. We weren't ready to play tonight."
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| March 8, 2022; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Jay Morant (12) dribbles as New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) defends during the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas—USA TODAY SPORTS |
Memphis didn't need to dominate Morant for a massive 77-58 lead. Desmond Bain and Jaren Jackson Jr. both had 22 points in an assisting effort. Bane scored four three-pointers in the first half alone, and Jackson Jr.'s lap in the middle of the third quarter gave Memphis the biggest lead of the night (36).
Morant and McCullum provided many of the highlights, but Jackson Jr. and Steven Adams did the heavy lifting. Adams and Jackson Jr. dominated Jackson Hayes (4 points) and Jonas Valenquinas (10 points). Hayes and Valencuinas only had five rebounds combined.
After a week of morale-boosting victories, Green knows his team can learn from being on the wrong end of a blowout game.
"We could have been better everywhere. We have to do more resistance than we can tonight. I take full ownership of it. We have to get better. We'll go to the gym sometime tomorrow and watch some tapes and see if we can get better." . But we're not flushing it. We can't flush it. That's not us."
The Pelicans fall 2-13 without Brandon Ingram. Still fighting for a 10th seed and a playoff spot, New Orleans began a four-game homestand on Wednesday, March 9 against the Orlando Magic.