Deron Williams carries Utah Jazz to 94-85 victory over Memphis Grizzlies
Having struggled on the very night, he was awarded the “Player of the Month” award for November, Deron Williams hit his strides, scoring 27 points complemented with eight assists, as he marshaled Utah Jazz to a 94-85 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on
Monday night.
The 6 ft 3” guard, who is spearheading the Jazz with 21.6 points per game this season struggled with foul problems early on against the Grizzlies but he overcame his demons as he ripped out the heart of the Grizzlies defense with an array of potent drives
to the rim.
C.J. Miles also made his presence felt scoring 20 points for the Jazz. He was also pivotal in the defensive plans of the Jazz as he blocked two shots, had a pair of steals while keeping Rudy g*y at bay the whole night long. g*y eventually finished with 18
points on 8-of-22 shooting.
In what was a sixth straight defeat on the road and fourth overall, Mike Conley scored 19 points and Zach Randolph finished with 17, for the Grizzlies.
First quarter
In a tightly contested affair both the teams mounted pressure on each other right from the start. Trailing by 7-6, fifth minute into the first quarter, Williams helped Jazz break away with five consecutive points. The Grizzlies though displayed some offensive
prowess of their own as they kept pace with the Jazz throughout the first quarter.
Raja Bell made a triple pointer 2:09 minutes before the buzzer to make it 20-16 and that was the way it stayed, entering the second quarter as both the teams struggled with their shooting.
Second Quarter
The Grizzlies nailed two consecutive shots to start the second quarter and Darrell Arthur made a jumper to give Memphis the lead inside three minutes.
Williams committing two personal fouls departed in the second quarter and so did the Jazz offense. C.J. Miles, however, spared Utah’s blushes with his pinpoint shooting. He scored more than half of the Jazz points in the second quarter, including three from
outside the arc; to keep a check on the Grizzlies as the Jazz entered the second half with a single point advantage.
Third Quarter
The game hung in balance going into the second half seemed to be heading for a dog fight as the lead changed hands 7 times and the score was tied for the same count till the final 34 seconds of the third quarter.
At that juncture though, Raja Bell and Francisco Elson combined for a 7-2 run bridging the third and the four quarter to propel the Jazz to match defining 74-67 lead and they never looked back.
The Jazz offense set the foot on the paddle after that with Williams leading the way and he drove a layup with 21.8 seconds left to give Utah their biggest lead of the match at 94-83, before Rudy g*y slammed the ring to finish the proceedings.
Utah crossed the line at 94-85 in a match that witnessed lack luster shooting (42%) from both sides. But the Grizzlies managed only 1-of-11 as compared to 8-of-22 by Jazz from downtown and that proved to be the deciding factor.
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