Steven Adams has continued his strong recent play in Memphis Grizzlies one-sided win over Charlotte Hornets on the road on Thursday (NZ time).
Just days after equalling his career-high in rebounds (23), the Kiwi centre pulled down another 15 against the lowly Hornets, adding nine points as well as a pair of blocks and a steal to help his side to a dominant 131-107 win.
Through his past eight outings, Adams is averaging a mammoth 15 boards per game to go with 7.5 points. The Grizzlies are now second in the Western Conference standings behind Denver Nuggets.
Superstar Grizzlies guard Ja Morant led the way for the Grizzlies in their fourth straight victory with 23 points and eight assists.
Desmond Bane had 19 points, Dillon Brooks added 18 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. supplied 17 points, as the Grizzlies shot 50 percent from the field (47/94).
LaMelo Ball had 23 points and 12 assists for the Hornets, whose defensive shortcomings were exposed throughout the game. He made only seven of 23 shots from the field.
Terry Rozier (21 points), Jalen McDaniels (16) and P.J. Washington (15) added to Charlotte's offense.
The Grizzlies reached the 100-point mark on an Adams basket in the lane with 1m20s to play in the third quarter, leading 100-71 at the time.
The teams largely traded baskets in the third quarter, with each team scoring 26 points so it was 102-73 going to the fourth.
Memphis began the final quarter by scoring 11 of the first 14 points.
The Hornets, who lost for the eighth time in their last nine home games, couldn't come back with long-range shooting by making only 11 of 38 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
The Grizzlies didn't let up in the first half, bolting to a 64-37 lead with just under four minutes left in the second quarter.
Memphis shot 53.2 percent from the field on the way to a 76-47 halftime lead.
Charlotte received basically no production from its front-court players, with the Grizzlies keeping those post players under control.
It was another miserable defensive beginning for the Hornets, who trailed 40-26 after the first quarter. The Grizzlies made 14 of 24 shots in the first 12 minutes, while Charlotte was fortunate that five of its seven field goals were three-pointers.
Memphis put its second whipping on the Hornets this season combined with a 130-99 result November 4 at home.
Reuters/Newshub.
