Hawks lose to Memphis Grizzlies 128-112 without Trae Young

With Trae Young and Ja Morant out to injury, the Hawks faced the Memphis Grizzlies with a starting lineup of Vit Krejci, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Client Capela.

Jalen Johnson scored first for the Hawks on a drive. The Grizzlies started the game on a 12-2 run before Vit Krejci knocked down a three. The offense without Young was clunky, as expected. After the 12-2 start, the Hawks brought it to 16-14 before the first timeout of the game. Keaton Wallace saw his first action in some time after being transferred back to the Hawks from College Park ahead of the game.

The Grizzlies were on fire from deep, making seven of their first 11 three-point attempts. They went on to score 43 points in the first quarter, taking a commanding 16 point lead entering the second quarter.

Jalen Johnson was impressive, doing everything on the floor. He was scoring, passing, rebounding, and also putting Jaren Jackson Jr. on a poster.

The Grizzlies continued to rain in three-pointers and add to their lead. The made 13 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc at half and held a 73-49 lead. Johnson and Hunter were in double figures for the Hawks.

The third quarter presented more of the same. Early on, Dyson Daniels threatened a comeback on his own, cutting the deficit below 20.

Nonetheless, the Grizzlies maintained complete control. Entering the fourth, the Hawks still couldn’t cut the deficit back below 20 points. Any time they threatened, the Grizzlies seemingly answered with a three-pointer. With roughly seven minutes left, they had another opportunity but Daniels couldn’t connect on a three attempt.

De’Andre Hunter continued his heroics, bringing his total points to 26 before he checked out of the game for the final time.

The Hawks then unloaded the bench with a lineup of Wallace, Krejci, Mathews, Roddy, and Barlow. The Grizzlies would win the game by a final score of 128-112