NEW YORK — The Memphis Grizzlies hit the Brooklyn Nets with hammers and daggers.
Luke Kennard scored a season-high 25 points and the Grizzlies ended a five-game losing streak by beating the Nets 106-102 on Monday night.
Jake LaRavia added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who outscored the Nets 50-33 and racked up 25 second-chance points to make up for all the offense they’re missing due to injuries. Lamar Stevens scored 13 points.
LaRavia said Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins tried to get the Grizzlies to be more active on the offensive glass, calling for a rebound that is put back and in, a hammer, and one that is returned for a 3 points, a dagger. .
“We had a lot of crucial offensive rebounds that helped us get extra possessions, so that’s just something we’ve been focusing on more recently,” LaRavia said.
The Nets won 111-86 at Memphis on Feb. 26, allowing the fewest points this season for their first victory under interim coach Kevin Ollie. They weren’t as good defensively and were much worse offensively, adding to their woes with a dismal 17 of 30 (56.7%) on free throws.
The final failure came following a curious decision to intentionally make Mikal Bridges miss the final three-shot foul with the Nets down three and 6.7 seconds remaining. The Nets were called for a violation, but the Grizzlies probably would have grabbed the rebound the way they outplayed the Nets on the boards.
“The game starts with shooting, that’s when their games started,” Ollie said. “So when they shot him, they went and got him.”
Nic Claxton had 21 points for the Nets, who were coming off back-to-back wins over Atlanta that allowed them to move within two games of the Hawks for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and the final spot in the play-in tournament. But Bridges, their leading scorer who had 38 points in Saturday’s win, was 4 for 14 on Monday and had just 14 points.
The game was tied at 88 before Stevens got the next two baskets, and a Kennard basket made the score 94-88. Claxton ended Brooklyn’s drought, but Vince Williams Jr. scored and Kennard made his sixth 3-pointer for a 99-90 lead with three minutes remaining.
Kennard finished 8 of 11 overall and 6 of 9 from behind the arc. He has also dealt with injuries and illnesses, missing 31 games this season.
“It feels really good to have a game like that and also get a win,” Kennard said. “We’ve struggled the last five or six games here.
“We have some young guys there. Just continuing to try to be a leader for them and trying to make the right plays and it felt really good to knock down some shots as well.
The Nets played without Cam Thomas because of foot and ankle injuries, and without Ben Simmons, who was sidelined because of a pinched nerve in his lower back, the same injury that sidelined him. gap for 35 games earlier this season.
That’s nothing compared to the Grizzlies’ injuries, with Memphis missing Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart on Monday.
But they led 53-52 at halftime and extended that score to 71-63 on Kennard’s 3-point basket midway through the third. Brooklyn used a 9-0 run to turn a seven-point deficit into a 77-75 advantage, but Memphis got the final five points of the period to lead 80-77 heading into the fourth.
FOLLOWING
Grizzlies: Visit Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Nets: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday.
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