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The young, athletic, swift Memphis Grizzlies put on a Garden clinic in the first half Wednesday with point guard Ja Morant as lead firecracker.
The Knicks made it a game in the second half, but in the end just avoided a blowout in absorbing a 120-108 defeat to the red-hot Western Conference power.
Evan Fournier (27 points, 8 of 12 from 3) and Mitchell Robinson (14 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks) were sensational, but the Knicks didn’t defend or get enough clutch play from Julius Randle.
Morant finished with 23 points and nine assists. He had plenty of help and the Grizzlies proved to have too many young weapons to handle.
The Grizzlies (37-18) are what the Knicks aspire to be. Their 24-28 squad now head onto a murderous five-game western trip that will make or break their disappointing season.
Memphis’ Ziaire Smith, the rookie lottery pick out of Stanford, had a career-best night with 21 points. Jaren Jackson Jr., whose father works for the Westchester Knicks, looked terrific in lighting it up from 3, and finished with 24 points.
Randle didn’t shoot well but posted nice numbers, nearly getting a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. But the Knicks needed the 2020-21 version to beat this Grizzlies juggernaut.
During a timeout midway through the fourth quarter with the Knicks in range, Randle got involved in the Memphis huddle jawing with Desmond Bane. A double technical was called.
However, the Grizzlies regained the momentum as Bane drilled a 3-pointer and Morant snaked to the basket for a layup.
The Knicks also got nothing — literally — from point guard Kemba Walker, scoreless for the second straight game.
Memphis took a 64-52 lead after a first half full of highlights. The Grizzlies were up by as many as 19 points as Morant poured in 15 points — none on 3-pointers.
Any Knicks turnover was parlayed into a highlight-reel Memphis dunk. During a two-minute span, Morant fed rookie Smith for a wild alley-oop slam followed by Smith lofting a lob for Morant for a fast-break jam.
The Knicks were no match. Young Memphis forward Brandon Clarke threw down a vicious slam off a high lob and moments later drove in for another scintillating dunk.
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