Jenkins: Grizzlies were lucky to do just enough in the first half

The Memphis Grizzlies extended their winning streak to four games with a 132-120 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, but coach Taylor Jenkins was critical of their performance.

The Grizzlies had opened a 30-point lead by half-time, but were outscored by Charlotte 72-54 in the second half and just managed to scrape the win.

A record of 29-15 in the West keeps them third in the conference, but Jenkins was eyeing improvements after what he called "a tale of two halves."

"Luckily we did enough in the first half and we were able to survive the second half," he said.

"Too many free throws. Too many lackadaisical plays. Offense, defense, turnovers. We were definitely a tale of two halves. The team in the first half is reflective of who we wanna be. second half, not so much. great talk in the locker room afterward, and we gotta get better.

"Guys were definitely very upset with our performance in the second half."

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But despite their second-half collapse, the Grizzlies managed to get over the line with the final buzzer coming before the Hornets could even out the score anymore.

Memphis Grizzlies move onto a 17-5 home record and are just one game back on the second-placed Houston Rockets.

They host the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, who are second-bottom of the West, in what could be a battle between the top two picks of the 2019 NBA Draft in Ja Morant and Zion Williamson.