Ja Morant and the Grizzlies Dominate Bucks Despite Giannis's Big Night: A 122-99 Rout in Memphis

The Milwaukee Bucks found themselves completely outmatched and outplayed by the Memphis Grizzlies, falling 122-99 despite a strong 37-point, 11-rebound performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ja Morant and the Grizzlies were simply too much for Milwaukee to handle.

Morant set the tone early, knifing through the Bucks defense at will and finding open teammates for easy baskets. Delon Wright had no chance of staying in front of Morant, who finished with a spectacular triple-double of 26 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.

Morant made things happen effortlessly for Memphis, throwing down alley-oops and threading beautiful passes to his teammates. Meanwhile, the Bucks offense spun its wheels, struggling mightily to make outside shots (3-21 from three-point range in the first half) or move the ball effectively.

Even Antetokounmpo dominating the paint wasn't enough, as Morant and the Grizzlies continued to pour it on in the second quarter, pushing the lead to 22 points by halftime. Milwaukee's ball movement was stagnant and the bricks kept piling up on offense, while Memphis played like the Harlem Globetrotters, running circles around the Bucks.

The third quarter brought more of the same, with Morant throwing down highlight dunks off lob passes and Milwaukee continuing to misfire from all over the court. Brook Lopez hit a couple of threes, but that was a lone bright spot. Milwaukee actually ranked as the second-worst third-quarter team entering the game, just behind Memphis, but still managed to get outscored by seven in the period.

By the fourth, the game was well in hand for Memphis. Antetokounmpo padded his stats a bit, while Morant kept casually putting up highlights. In the end, the mirror-image +/- numbers of Morant (+29) and Jrue Holiday (-29) epitomized just how thoroughly the Grizzlies dominated the Bucks on this night. Milwaukee was no match for Morant and Memphis.