Jaren Jackson Jr. drilled three fourth-quarter 3-pointers and rookie GG Jackson scored 20 points off the bench as the Memphis Grizzlies snapped a nine-game skid with a 121-113 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
The Rockets, who suffered their sixth consecutive road loss, erased a 23-point, first-half deficit and took their first lead at 88-87 when rookie Amen Thompson made a free throw with 10:07 left to play.
But Jaren Jackson, who finished with 18 points, answered with a 3-pointer and added another trey at the 7:37 mark to snap a 92-92 deadlock. His final 3 of the fourth capped a 9-0 burst and helped Memphis reclaim its double-digit lead at 107-97.
The short-handed Grizzlies received contributions from several role players. Luke Kennard made four 3-pointers and tallied 17 points, while Lamar Stevens and Jordan Goodwin — both recent acquisitions for Memphis — combined for 23 points off the bench.
Thompson posted his fifth double-double of the season by pairing 19 points with 12 rebounds, while Alperen Sengun added 19 points and six assists. Both Thompson and Sengun fouled out in the fourth quarter for the Rockets, who missed 24 of 34 3-pointers. Aaron Holiday, who scored 17 points off the bench, hit half of Houston’s threes and went 5 of 8 from deep.
The Grizzlies were ablaze early, particularly Kennard, who started 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
Memphis surged to a 15-7 lead, and the Grizzlies’ first 10 shot attempts were 3-pointers. Jaren Jackson banked in a 13-footer at the 5:23 mark of the first quarter to give the Grizzlies their first field goal inside the arc before GG Jackson took the baton from Kennard.
GG Jackson scored 10 points in the first quarter as Memphis took a 36-21 lead into the second. The Grizzlies extended that margin, pushing it to 18 when Ziaire Williams dunked through a foul and converted the subsequent free throw with 11:14 left in the first half. After Derrick Rose followed a GG Jackson triple with a layup, Memphis led 46-23.
The Rockets suddenly came to life, soon reeling off a 21-4 run that included consecutive transition dunks from Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr., plus a second-chance dunk from Sengun that cut the deficit to 54-49. Nate Hinton sparked the rally off the Houston bench, and Memphis held on just long enough to take a 58-49 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media