In the midst of a rather irregular start to the course on his part, Kelly Oubre Jr. showed this morning how much he can contribute to these Hornets. In a scoring recital, the forward commanded Charlotte’s victory at the FedEx Forum in Memphis by 108-118, a result that cuts the team’s five-game losing streak and places them with a balance of 6-7 in tenth position in the league. Eastern Conference.
Oubre, with 37 points and 76.5% accuracy, clearly had his best game since his arrival in North Carolina and the third best score of his career, which was too much for some Grizzlies who found no response. The forward turned his back on the Hornets during many stretches of the game, including the last quarter, in which he scored 15 of his goals and allowed his team to close the game with some ease and without suffering in a tight finish.
“I think I have faced this game like any other,” he said. “I try to tackle the plays one at a time. The first shots I have taken have gone inside and that has opened the rim for me. It was as if it had gotten bigger, and that has allowed me to get into the rhythm ».
However, the former Warriors was not alone, as he had the support of Gordon Hayward, who with 25 points served as a second sword and also helped to break the match in the fourth quarter. LaMelo Ball, on the other hand, was not so successful at the scorer level and could not go beyond 12 goals, but he returned to sign a fairly complete performance by capturing 9 rebounds and distributing 8 assists.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, suffered their second loss of the season at home despite 32 points and 8 assists from Ja Morant, who once again served as a benchmark for Tennessee. However, the point guard died after a brilliant first quarter in which 19 of those points arrived, and he was not able to respond as well to the final attacks of the Hornets that finished the game.
However, it was not all bad news for the Memphis, who were able to enjoy the debut of Dillon Brooks this season. The forward, who had not been able to play until now due to a broken left hand, returned offering a good version and added 20 points with a 4/7 in triples, so he seems prepared to be a man of weight and give a boost to the team. On this occasion, Jenkins chose to make him come off the bench to facilitate his return to the track, but we will see if in the following games he returns to the title he had last year.
(Cover photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
