Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. dropped a three-word reaction for his teammate Marcus Smart's season-best performance against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Pippen took to Instagram to share a post of the final score featuring Smart and hyped the former NBA finalist in the caption.
"The game changer," Pipen captioned his IG story.
Wednesday's game featured Marcus Smart having a huge impact for the Grizzlies off the bench to lead the team to a 131-111 win. Smart checked into the game while Memphis trailed by nine points with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter. He was responsible for the final 12 points in the quarter either by assists or scoring.
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By the time Smart checked out with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Grizzlies led by 11 points. The 6-foot-3 guard concluded the game with 25 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals in just over 20 minutes of playtime. He shot an efficient 66.7% from the field, including 63.6% from deep.
"Unbelievable boost from Marcus tonight," Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said. "...You just look up and down the box score and some things that don’t even show up in the box — his on-ball defense, disrupting their offense, his playmaking."
Meanwhile, Scotty Pippen Jr. concluded the game with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals after having a career night two games prior.
Scotty Pippen Jr. has career night in father's former arena
During the Memphis Grizzlies' matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Bulls legend Scottie Pippen's son Scotty Pippen Jr. put up a career-high 30 points to lead the Grizzlies to a 142-131 win on the road. He also dished out 10 assists to make it a double-double.
Scotty achieving the feat was made even more remarkable given that he did it at United Center, the arena where his dad had so many memorable performances.
"It's definitely a special place to play," Pippen Jr. said of Chicago's United Center. "[To] see my dad's name up [in the rafters]. I've dreamed of this moment. It's a dream come true to be finally able to play here."
So far in the season, Scotty Pippen Jr. is averaging 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 49.7% from the field, including 39.7% from beyond the arc. He is also one of the early frontrunners for the Most Improved Player award this season.
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