3 Takeaways From Grizzlies' 142-111 Win Over Pelicans
· Yahoo Sports
The Memphis Grizzlies put 10 players in double figures Friday night and beat the New Orleans Pelicans 142-111 at Smoothie King Center. Memphis improved to 8-4 and stayed perfect on the road at 6-0.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
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1. Ten Double-Figure Scorers Came Out of 36 Assists
Thirty-six of Memphis' 44 field goals came off assists, and the Grizzlies turned it over 12 times.
Ty Jerome had 9 assists, and Cedric Coward had 6 without a turnover. Cam Spencer and Javon Small had 5 apiece, and Small's driving layup with 26 seconds left made him the 10th Grizzlies player to reach double figures. Spencer threw the pass.
The scoring list ran from Jerami Grant's 22 down to Small, Taylor Hendricks, and Jaylen Wells. Grant needed only 10 field-goal attempts for his 22.
Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said the players kept drawing a second defender and finding the open teammate. He did not think Small realized in the final seconds that he would be the 10th.
"That's one of the beauties of this team, is nobody really thinks that way," Iisalo said. "Everybody's trying to think of what's best for the team. We went through a very difficult season last year, and nobody wants to be part of that type of experience. So everybody is in a great headspace regarding that, that as long as we do everything for the team, we'll all be happier."
"In sports there's a lot about, 'Hey, let's discuss things,' and most of the time the team chemistry, the happiness within a team, follows winning," Iisalo continued. "So when you do everything in order to try to get the team to win, most of the time guys are going to be happy, because even if you don't always win, they see the commitment from everybody to that common cause, and that's usually how it goes. And you're not going to talk the team chemistry into the team and then start winning. It usually goes the opposite way."
Memphis went 25-57 last season and finished 13th in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies came into Friday looking for a response to the 135-134 overtime loss to New Orleans on Nov. 2.
2. Memphis Answered New Orleans' Third-Quarter Push With a 25-9 Run
Saddiq Bey scored 11 of his 30 points in the third quarter, and his 3-pointer with 6:01 left in the period made it 80-77.
Iisalo had already pulled his starters by then. The five-man group of Spencer, Small, Grant, Hendricks, and GG Jackson checked in at the 6:05 mark, and Memphis closed the quarter on a 25-9 run. Jackson made two 3-pointers in 24 seconds. Small and Spencer each hit one, and the Grizzlies went 11-for-11 at the free-throw line over the final 5:46.
Bey scored 5 more points the rest of the night. Zion Williamson finished with 22 and went 8-for-8 at the line.
Spencer said the Grizzlies' offense started with getting stops and rebounds and running in transition.
"I think we were just more connected," Spencer said. "Guys were in gap. Obviously [Bey] was hitting some shots. We made some adjustments on him, and just showing more bodies at Zion and some of their bigger threats on offense. We were just a little bit more connected on that end."
New Orleans shot 7-of-31 from 3-point range. Bey made six of the seven.
3. The Bench Scored 76 Points With Edey and Post Out
Zach Edey sat out for left ankle injury management, and Quinten Post remained in concussion protocol, as the Grizzlies announced before the game. Isaiah Stewart started at center and finished with 12 points and 4 blocks.
Memphis' bench finished with 76 points to 27 for New Orleans' reserves. Four of them were at plus-24 or better: Spencer at plus-35, Jackson at plus-30, Hendricks at plus-25, and Grant at plus-24.
Hendricks grabbed 12 rebounds, 4 of them offensive, in 19 minutes. Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 6 points in 2 minutes, 22 seconds, all of them in the final 1:47.
Iisalo said the Grizzlies were "bringing the rotations over" against a New Orleans roster with a lot of on-ball talent.
"We have depth in our roster," Iisalo said. "Don't know what the playing situation will be for tomorrow, who will be available, but that's the good part. We have a lot of guys who are hungry, as we saw in the end."
Brooklyn visits FedExForum on Saturday night, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. CT.