Grizzlies lose 11-game winning streak, bounce back for MLK Day win

Ray Padilla, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·2 min read
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. spins past the defense of Dallas Mavericks forward Marquese Chriss at FedexForum on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. spins past the defense of Dallas Mavericks forward Marquese Chriss at FedexForum on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022.
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Welcome to the Memphis Sports newsletter. It’s Ray Padilla, the Commercial Appeal’s digital producer, giving you the latest bluff city sports news.

Once again, the Dallas Mavericks ended another Memphis Grizzlies winning streak.

Friday, the Mavericks ended the Grizzlies’ 11-game winning streak with a 112-85 win at FedExForum. The last time they ended a Memphis streak was after the Grizzlies had a five-game win streak in December.

Our Evan Barnes tells us what we learned from the first Grizzlies loss of 2022.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) dunks the ball over Chicago Bulls guard Matt Thomas (21) and center Nikola Vucevic (9) FedExForum on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) dunks the ball over Chicago Bulls guard Matt Thomas (21) and center Nikola Vucevic (9) FedExForum on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.

Despite the loss of the win streak, the Grizzlies bounced back and claimed another win against the Chicago Bulls Monday (119-108) during their 20th consecutive Martin Luther King Jr. Game.

Our Damichael Cole has observations from Monday’s game at FedExForum.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant wears a shirt honoring Martin Luther King Jr. before their game against the Chicago Bulls at FedExForum on the national holiday named for the iconic civil rights leader on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant wears a shirt honoring Martin Luther King Jr. before their game against the Chicago Bulls at FedExForum on the national holiday named for the iconic civil rights leader on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.

Ja Morant: Memphis’ superstar

Ja Morant realized almost everyone sees him as the superstar he’s always wanted to be this past week, our Mark Giannotto writes in his latest column.

Here’s an excerpt:

Even several hours later, Ja Morant struggled to express the feeling of knowing more than 1.6 million votes had been cast for him, of realizing he had passed Luka Doncic in NBA All-Star voting.

He had talked so long about wanting this, to the point that it framed this entire season. Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman predicted Morant would be an All-Star when he spoke to reporters on the opening day of training camp almost four months ago.

So now that it was happening, now that Morant knew only Steph Curry had more fan votes than him among Western Conference guards, now that he tried to put all that into words, those words were as astonishing as they were authentic. They were confirmation that he’s only beginning to understand what is happening.

“It’s almost like a little emotional moment just to see how many fans I got who want to see me in the All-Star game. It’s big time. Thank y’all. Love y’all,” Morant said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t like me for some reason. I appreciate the ones who root for me and vote for me.”

Memphis Tigers fans cheer on their team as they play the Cincinnati Bearcats at FedExForum on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.
Memphis Tigers fans cheer on their team as they play the Cincinnati Bearcats at FedExForum on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.

Tigers NCAA Tournament chances

Memphis Tigers are ranked 63rd in the NET rankings as of Monday.

The NET rankings are an NCAA tool that the selection committee uses to varying degrees of importance when it comes to selecting teams for the NCAA Tournament.

Our Nick Gray shows us the Tigers' NET ranking profile.

Memphis 901 FC's fans celebrate Kyle Murphy's game-tying goal to knot the score at 1-1 against the Sporting Kansas City II during their match at AutoZone Park on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.
Memphis 901 FC's fans celebrate Kyle Murphy's game-tying goal to knot the score at 1-1 against the Sporting Kansas City II during their match at AutoZone Park on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.

Memphis 901 FC full schedule unveiled

Memphis 901 FC unveiled its full regular-season schedule for the 2022 United Soccer League Championship year.

The schedule includes 17 home matches at AutoZone Park from March through October.

901 FC will be back at AutoZone Park on March 12 and tickets are already available on the team's site.

First few matches include Memphis 901 FC vs:

  • Pittsburg Riverhounds on March 12

  • Oakland Roots on March 19

  • Las Vegas Lights on March 26

  • Detroit City on April 2

Memphis Tigers forward Josh Minott dunks the ball on a fast break against the Cincinnati Bearcats at FedExForum on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.
Memphis Tigers forward Josh Minott dunks the ball on a fast break against the Cincinnati Bearcats at FedExForum on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.

The Scoreboard

Memphis Grizzlies win against Golden State Warriors (116-108)

Memphis Grizzlies win against Minnesota Timberwolves (116-108)

Memphis Grizzlies lose to Dallas Mavericks (112-85)

Memphis Grizzlies win against Chicago Bulls (119-108)

Tigers basketball lose to UCF Knights (74-64)

Tigers basketball lose to East Carolina Pirates (72-71)

Memphis Grizzlies players wear shirts honoring Martin Luther King Jr. before their game against the Chicago Bulls at FedExForum on the national holiday named for the iconic civil rights leader on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.
Memphis Grizzlies players wear shirts honoring Martin Luther King Jr. before their game against the Chicago Bulls at FedExForum on the national holiday named for the iconic civil rights leader on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.

Mark your calendar

Memphis Grizzlies vs Milwaukee Bucks: Wednesday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m. at Fiserv Forum

Memphis Grizzlies vs Denver Nuggets: Friday, Jan. 21, 8 p.m. at Pepsi Center

Memphis Grizzlies vs Dallas Mavericks: Sunday, Jan. 23, 6:30 p.m. at American Airlines Center

Tigers basketball vs SMU Mustangs: Thursday, Jan 20, 6 p.m. at FedExForum

Tigers basketball vs Tulsa Golden Hurricane: Sunday, Jan. 23, 2 p.m. at Reynolds Center

The Memphis Sports newsletter was written by Ray Padilla, the digital producer for The Commercial Appeal, and features stories from Damichael Cole, Mark Giannatto, Corinne Kennedy and Evan Barnes. Ray can be reached at raymond.padilla@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Ray_Padilla_.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Sports newsletter: Grizzlies lose winning streak, win MLK game