The Memphis Grizzlies may have suffered a 118-103 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the shorthanded Grizzlies were able to put up a strong fight thanks in large part to Jaren Jackson Jr.'s contributions. Jackson flourished in his role as the Grizzlies' primary offensive option, dropping 36 points on 15-23 shooting from the field, with no two points bigger than his statement jam right over the grill of three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.

Jackson, acting as the Grizzlies' play initiator deep in the fourth quarter, attacked the lane off of a screen from his teammate, Luke Kennard. Gobert, however, was still in position in the lane as Jackson prodded his way into the paint. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year then took a hard dribble to his left and spun quickly over his left shoulder, nudging the Timberwolves center back a few inches.

This proved to be every bit of space that Jaren Jackson Jr. needed to throw down a nasty left-handed jam right over Rudy Gobert, hyping up the Grizzlies bench and stunning the Timberwolves crowd with a statement poster.

Rudy Gobert was quite the intimidating presence in the paint during the Grizzlies' 118-103 loss to the Timberwolves. The Stifle Tower had six blocks in the contest, and he altered plenty of shot attempts in the paint as well. Santi Aldama, in particular, had a ton of trouble scoring over Gobert to the point where the TNT commentating crew was able to point out that the Grizzlies were afraid of going up against the three-time DPOY.

Jaren Jackson Jr., however, was fearless all throughout the night. In addition to the nasty poster jam in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies star had a few tough layups over Gobert as well, not to mention another dunk over the Timberwolves center to avenge a blocked shot.

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Alas, as good of a fight as Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizzlies put up, they ran out of steam in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves also found their stride offensively thanks to Anthony Edwards' gravity-defying feats and epic shotmaking. Nonetheless, Jackson's offensive emergence should be a welcome sight for a Memphis team that's sorely missing three of its best four guys due to injuries.