DALLAS — After losing Ja Morant to season-ending labrum surgery and not having Jaren Jackson Jr. in the lineup, Desmond Bane led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. Bane finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in 39 minutes.
"He was great tonight. He came out to show that he could beat us by himself without Ja [Morant] or [Jaren] Jackson [Jr.]," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "He was really good tonight."
Bane, the TCU alum selected No. 30 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, enjoys sticking it to the Mavs in head-to-head matchups since expecting to go No. 18 to the Dallas Mavericks but the team selected Josh Green instead.
“They were supposed to take me,” Bane said. “You know that. The PA guy came up and apologized. He said he thinks about it every day. That’s exactly what I want them to be thinking about.”
With Morant sidelined for an extended period again, Bane will have a large opportunity to make plays with the ball. He's averaged 24.7 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.6 rebounds in 27 games without Morant this season, showing he can step into a more significant role and take advantage of it.
“Not only the summer, but the first 25 games, with the coverages, the schemes, and the things that I saw, will only pay dividends, not only this season but throughout the rest of my career," Bane said. "I’m getting an opportunity now to continue to grow and get better in a role that I’ve never played before. It’s a great challenge.”
Bane remains confident in the Grizzlies' outlook, pointing to their recent success. The team is focused on their process and living with the results, prioritizing the long-term amid Morant's injury. The team heads back home for a three-game homestand.
“We’re stringing together some good basketball. We’re fighting to our Grizzlies standard, competing on both ends of the floor," When you do that, you can live with the result. We’ve gotten a good result these last three games on the road. [It was a] great road trip. Now we got an opportunity to take it home and get some wins there, too.”
The Mavs split the season series 2-2 with the Grizzlies, meaning the next time they'll face each other in the regular season will be next season.
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