Jaren Jackson Jr.

72 hours removed from watching his Memphis Grizzlies partake in a 299-combined-point fireworks show that served as 2024-25’s highest-scoring game to date, Jaren Jackson Jr., understandably, arrived to February 28, 2025’s game with lockdown defense on his mind. Knowing opportunities would arrive against Karl-Anthony Towns and the New York Knicks’ fifth-ranked paint scoring attack, 2022-23’s Defensive Player of the Year rotates over immediately after eyeballing a could-be downhill drive. Mistake-free in timing his skyward leap, Jackson swats Towns’ layup attempt to a different city and state, affording the fast-paced Grizzlies with the opportunity to attack in transition. The Grizzlies — unknowingly prepared to endure three straight agonizing losses, all by a single possession — would ultimately fall on a game-winning triple by one of New York’s many talented swingmen. Jackson, though, enjoyed a fruitful performance even so, standing out along the box score with 18 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and a 3-pointer in 34 minutes of action.