After dropping three straight at home, the Grizzlies gave their fans back in the states something to cheer about Monday night, as they took home a 118-102 win in Toronto.
The win pushed Memphis’s record on the road to 5-0 to start the season, which is the first time that’s happened in franchise history.
Here are four takeaways from the record-setting win.
Cam Boozer bounces back
It was truly a tale of two halves.
Boozer was in the middle of a cold shooting stretch, missing badly in the final two games of Memphis’s three-game skid, a combined 6 of 28 against Indiana and Oklahoma City, but Monday reminded us what this rookie can do.
Boozer finished 9 of 16 from the field for 22 points, the most shots he has made in any game this season, along with seven rebounds and eight assists. But the second half is when he turned it on on, as 18 of his 22 points came after halftime.
Boozer also consistently operated as a point forward down the stretch, getting the ball at the top of the key and running the offense himself.
His full bag was on display, as he drove off a three-point fake for a right-handed slam, split three Raptors with a Eurostep for a layup, and later punched a exclamation mark two-hand slam finish off an inbound pass.
The effectiveness of his dribble drives are showing that is going to be his go-to weapon, especially if the three point shot is not falling like it was on Monday.
The turnovers are still the one thing left to clean up, as he gave the ball away six times Monday.
It was his third 20-point game of the season, and through 10 games, Boozer is averaging 16.2 points 9.7 rebounds and 5.5 assist a night.
A 19-year-old doing that kind of damage not only as a scorer, but also on the glass and as a passer is exactly why Memphis took him third overall, and exactly why nights like Monday look more like the standard, compared to what we saw in the losses.
Jerami Grant’s season high
Grant doesn’t always jump off the stat sheet, but he makes winning plays and has quietly been one of Memphis’s steadiest players through the first nine games, but he made a loud statement in tenth.
Grant scored 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, going a perfect 3 for 3 from three, a season high, while also chipping in two assists, a steal, a block and no fouls.
He set the tone early, playing all over the floor defensively in the first quarter while Memphis built its first cushion and made an impact whenever he got a chance.
In the fourth he came up big for Memphis, as Grant hit two corner threes out of the same spot, both cross-court feeds from Boozer.
It’s the kind of two-way night Memphis hoped for when it brought him over from Portland, where he averaged 18.6 points a season ago on a rougher 45.3% from the field.
Grizzlies hit 50-40-90 as a team
A 50-40-90 shooting night is rare for one player, let alone an entire team, but that’s what Memphis put together Monday.
The Grizzlies shot 53.2% from the field, 47.1% from three on 16 of 34 shooting, and 94.7% from the free throw line.
It’s the seventh time Memphis has achieved that feat on the road and the 20th time in franchise history, the first since March 1st in Indiana.
The NBA’s second leading bench unit entering the game (45.7 ppg), helped with that efficiency, as they continued that trend and scored 44 of Memphis’s 118 points.
Taylor Hendricks showed how effective of a weapon he can be for this Grizzlies team as he helped lead the charge for the second unit along with Grant, finishing 4-5 shooting for nine points in his best game of the season.
Javon Small’s role keeps growing
With Scotty Pippen Jr. is out with a lumbar disc herniation in his lower back, and no firm timetable yet for his return, Small has been taking full advantage of the opportunity and showing that he belongs in the pros.
Small ran the back up point guard roll and finished with nine points and five assists, capped by a deep three from the top of the key.
He found Hendricks for a highlight alley-oop in the first quarter and cleaned up a missed Boozer three for a putback later in the game.
He also allowed Jerome to play off ball and continue his scoring streak of 20 points in the last four games.
Last season, playing a reserve role, he averaged 9.7 points and 3.7 assists in 41 games and is still on a two-way contract, but keep an eye on that, because if he keeps improving, that deal likely won’t last much longer.
Memphis will try to break its home court losing streak back at FedExForum Wednesday as they host host the 5-4 Denver Nuggets, who are coming off a 110-100 loss to the Houston Rockets.
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