Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz get the Memphis monkey off their backs

The third time was the charm for the Utah Jazz, who finally felled the Memphis Grizzlies thanks to the efforts of Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert.

Ahead of Monday night’s game between the Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies — already the teams’ third meeting on the young campaign — Grizz point guard Mike Conley opined that his team was over playing the Jazz. “It’s a mini-playoff series almost,” he said. “I know they’re probably tired of seeing us; we’re tired of seeing them.”

If the game’s result is any indication, he’s likely extra happy to have the Jazz off the schedule for the next four months.

Following two bad losses to the Grizzlies at home, Joe Ingles and the Jazz tipped off a five-game roadie by finally getting the Memphis monkey off their backs. The Aussie sharpshooter’s 19-point night paced the Jazz in a 96-88 win over the masters of grit n’ grind.

On the same day that our sister site, FanSided, labeled Ingles “the best fifth man in the NBA,” Slow-Mo’ Joe’s all-around game helped the Jazz get off to a quick start early, and was key as the Jazz staved off the Grizz attack down the stretch, nailing a triple to put Utah up double digits late.

With Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio struggling to move the needle offensively, Ingles and Rudy Gobert carried the load. In addition to the scoring, which included three 3-point shots, Ingles added six boards, five assists and a steal.

He also passed a test of fortitude late when, with blood spurting out of a wound above his eye, Jazz trainers simply wrapped a bunch of tape around his head, after which he happily trotted back out to the court to close out the win.

After the game, Ingles was praised by everyone from his teammates to Utah lieutenant governor Spencer Cox, who called the 31-year-old a “national treasure.”

Clearly, the legend continues to grow.

Meanwhile, Gobert was dominant down low once again. The Stifle Tower scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 10 of which came during the final carom, and racked up 16 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Additional credit goes to Dante Exum. Following an abysmal performance against the Boston Celtics during which he played just two minutes and 37 seconds before getting benched, Exum was key in swaying things in the Jazz’s favor during the third quarter. He finished with nine points.

Elsewhere, Derrick Favors was 2-for-2 from distance and logged 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Favors has now made five of his last seven 3-point attempts over the last six games.

It was a solid win for the Jazz against a Grizzlies team that has surprised people coming out of the gate. That said, it was a horrible game to watch; 53 fouls were called throughout the course of the night, the teams combined for 31 turnovers and the ball only went into the basket at a 40-percent clip.

Regardless, a win is a win and the Jazz now find themselves above .500 at 7-6 on the year. Next up for the team is Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the Big D on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 6:30 PM MT.