The Memphis Grizzlies may have ultimately fallen to the visiting Dallas Mavericks by a final score of 120-113 Monday night, but this is not to say that their showing was completely marred by lackluster efforts.
Sure, there were several sore spots during the contest such as their 19 personal fouls committed and the fact that more than 60 percent of their entire point total came from just two players (Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. combined for 69 points), but, in many ways, Taylor Jenkins' squad had themselves quite an enviable showing against the West's third-ranked team.
One attention-grabbing takeaway from the night was the impressive play of sophomore Vince Williams Jr. who, for the majority of his 25 minutes of action, was tasked with squaring off against Mavs superstar Luka Doncic.
Already known as a stout defender coming in, throughout the contest he displayed his stellar combination of length and lateral quickness often at the expense of, rather, the dismay of the Slovenian-born baller, with this particular matchup often resulting in the two butting heads and, at one point, a technical foul being called against Doncic.
Following the tightly contested bout, Dallas' franchise cornerstone took to the table during his postgame presser and fielded questions about his experience going up against Williams, stating that the Grizzlies wing was constantly chirping at him and trying to get under his skin.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic dishes on Grizzlies wing Vince Williams Jr.
"I mean, he was just talking sh*t the whole time. I told him I wish they would let me play him one-on-one and that's when I got a tech."Luka Doncic on Vince Williams Jr.
Luka on Vince Williams Jr: “He was just talking s— the whole time. I told him I wish they’d let me him play one on one. That’s when I got a tech. So I don’t know — the refs gotta just let us talk. It’s part of the game. I love it. I think he’s a great defender.” pic.twitter.com/fyPSsyrGDd
— Jonah Dylan (@TheJonahDylan) December 12, 2023
Despite their heated back-and-fourth barking throughout, the perennial All-Star would admit during his presser that he loves trash-talk, saying "It's a part of the game." He would also shell out a major compliment in Williams' direction, noting that "he's a great defender."
When the Grizzlies wing served as the primary point of attack during the affair, Doncic went on to shoot a measly 2-9 from the field and registered just five points, as per Shawn Coleman of Bluff City Media.
On top of his defensive efforts, Williams would be one of only three Memphis players to wrap the game with double-digit points with 10 while pulling down nine boards and cashing in on his shot attempts at a 75.0 percent clip from the field and 66.7 percent from deep.
His production on the evening not only caught the attention of Doncic, but also his own teammates such as Desmond Bane, who described him as "a dog" and "the type of guy I want on my team for sure."