Even without their star point guard and
their coach, the Memphis Grizzlies continued their dominant play.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 26 points, Desmond
Bane added 23 and the Grizzlies tied a franchise record with their eighth
straight win, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 123-108 on Saturday.

Also Read: NBA: LeBron James leads Los Angeles Lakers past Atlanta Hawks 134-118 for 4th straight win

It is the fifth time in Memphis’ history
and first since 2015 it has won eight straight. The Grizzlies prevailed despite
missing Ja Morant, who sat out due to left thigh soreness. They were also
without coach Taylor Jenkins after he entered health and safety protocols.

“Our guys have stuck together. We figure it
out as it goes along,” said assistant coach Brad Jones, who is handling duties
in Jenkins’ absence. “They believe in our system and each other. It’s really
cool when players are talking about that and the coaches don’t have to.”

Also Read: NBA: Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks beat Curry, Golden State Warriors 99-82

Memphis has also won 11 of its last 12 road
games, with the only loss during that stretch coming on December 23 to Golden
State.

It was Jackson’s 13th game with at least 20
points this season. The 6-foot-11 frontcourt player, who came into the game
sixth in the NBA in blocked shots, also tied a season-high with five blocks.

Also Read: NBA: 5 hardest-hit teams by COVID-19

“One of the great things about Jaren is
that he’s very versatile. Steve Adams is a big part of us, but without him;
Jaren got more minutes at the 5 today,” Jones said. “I really think
that helps him offensively. It really causes problems for other teams. The
Clippers struggled on how to handle him today.”

Grizzlies
won despite trailing in the first quarter

The Grizzlies trailed by 12 late in the
first quarter and were down 44-35 with 9:11 remaining in the second on Nicolas
Batum’s 3-pointer. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 31-12 the remainder of
the first half.

Also Read: NBA: New York Knicks thrash Indiana Pacers 104-94, RJ Barrett scores 24

Jackson had 10 points in the quarter for
Memphis, which had runs of 16-4 during a three-minute span midway through the
quarter and 8-0 at the end of the half.

“They went on a little run at the
beginning. Then we woke up,” Jackson said. “We knew what we needed to do to
beat them.”

Also Read: Chicago Bulls extend win streak to 8 games, beat Orlando Magic 102-98

Marcus Morris Sr. had a season-high 29
points for the Clippers, who have dropped three straight and four of their last
five to fall two games under .500 at 19-21. Reggie Jackson added 18.

Coach Tyron Lue said putting centre on
Ivica Zubac on Jackson was a tough matchup considering it was Zubac’s first
game back after missing the past four games due to health and safety protocols.

Also Read: NBA: James, Monk help Lakers edge Timberwolves 108-103

“We’re asking him to come out to the
perimeter and then the drive,” Lue said. “We tried to adjust and go small, but
that hurt us on the glass. Their pace was too much. They were meeting the ball
and attacking.”

The Clippers jumped out to a 32-20 lead on
Morris’ 3-pointer with 2:52 remaining in the first quarter. Morris scored 13
and Jackson added 10 in the first as LA led 36-28 at the end of the period.

Also Read: NBA: Brown scores 50, rallies Celtics to 116-111 OT win over Magic

LA trailed by 14 late in the third quarter,
but scored eight straight points to get back into the game. Memphis’ Killian
Tillie thwarted any hopes of a comeback though with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
That started a 13-2 Grizzlies spurt to put it out of reach.

“With the lineups switching always. I agree
that our effort and physicality and coming out here feeling like we’re just
getting pushed around,” Reggie Jackson said. “We’re going to have to
get physical, we’re going to have to find ways to screen guys harder and do
anything to keep guys off the offensive glass.”