Grizzlies' Desmond Bane shares winning recipe after 'surprise' vs. Spurs
01/18/2025 02:47 PM
Every homegrown core developed through the NBA Draft needs time to marinate before being mentioned in NBA Finals conversations. Many organizations find that things turn sour when just one ingredient is missing. That has not been the case for Ja Morant’s grumbling Grizzlies. Even without Morant in a second game against the San Antonio Spurs (19-21) in three nights, Desmond Bane cooked up a Michelin-star experience in a 140-112 win. Sharing the basketball, trusting teammates, and another All-Star turn from Santi Aldama was enough to chop up Victor Wembanyama yet again.
The Grizzlies (27-15) did not get to count Ja Morant’s Dunk of the Year submission on the scoreboard in the first game of this mini-series, unfortunately. However, that was just an appetizer. Bane broke out some surprise dunks to satisfy the family in attendance for the back end of the San Antonio stay.
“Twice,” Bane screamed, well, twice. “Twice! One of my cousins was asking ‘Will Des dunk? I said ‘Hell naw’ but I ended up giving them a little surprise tonight.”
It was no surprise that Desmond Bane and a boastful Jaren Jackson Jr. helped the Grizzlies get the best of Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs twice in three nights. Memphis might have been without Ja Morant but the All-Star has missed 18 games already this season. Taylor Jenkins still had the Grizzlies playing with a spicy, trash-talking purpose and plenty of joy.
“It’s always a great feeling to end a long road trip on a win against a good young, hungry team,” Bane said. “I thought we were good especially in the second half executing, sharing the ball, (and) playing with pace. It’s a fun brand of basketball.”
Forget the recent Grizzlies setbacks against the Houston Rockets. Another revenge game is on the January schedule. Bane knows this kind of output should be expected against other Western Conference foes.
“(Another) 140 points tonight! That’s been a recipe this year, just sharing (the basketball),” noted Bane. “We’ve got multiple guys that can do multiple things. We played well tonight.”
Santi Aldama filled the All-Star void exceptionally well with 29 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and zero fouls in 30 minutes. Bane could not help but brag about the Spanish super-sub serving up delightful stat lines almost every night now.
“(Aldama) is only in what, his third year, fourth year? So he obviously has a lot of room to grow still but from where he began, it’s crazy man,” Bane said. “He is a worker. Spends his summers with the national team playing against grown men. I think it’s been great for him. He is confident right now, doing it on both ends. Guarding (Victor Wembanyama) tonight. Helluva performance.”
The Grizzlies need help to catch the Oklahoma City Thunder (34-7) for homecourt advantage in the Western Conference. Next up on the menu is a home date against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves (22-19). Three lottery teams follow the Timberwolves into the FedEx Forum. Memphis needs to feast against this easy schedule to close out the month and keep pace with the Rockets (27-13) for second place.
Thankfully, the Grizzlies are dialed in on a top-shelf recipe that works even if one of the Big Three components (Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane) are missing.
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