Grizzlies 120-109 Pelicans (November 29, 2024) Game Recap

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant scored 27 points and seven assists as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans 120-109 on Friday night to capture their first NBA Cup victory in franchise history.

Jaren Jackson Jr. had 23 points and eight rebounds for Memphis, while Santi Aldama added 20 points and went 8 of 9 from the field.

CJ McCollum led the Pelicans with 30 points, and Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy added 21 points each.

The victory was Memphis’ fifth straight, while the Pelicans have lost seven straight and 13 of 14.

New Orleans played without key players such as Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans’ two leading scorers, as well as Herbert Jones and Jose Alvarado.

Takeaways

Pelicans: With key players missing due to injury, the Pelicans relied on their backcourt duo. Murray, who called Wednesday’s 26-point loss to Toronto an embarrassment, held his tally with help from McCollum and Murphy, but rookie Yves Missi was the only other player in double figures with 16.

Grizzlies: Memphis collected 72 bench points in its last win over Detroit on Wednesday and had already reached half of those points by halftime. While the Pelicans struggled with absences, Memphis had 11 players play significant minutes.

Key moment

The Pelicans had cut the deficit to double digits in the third quarter, but two baskets from Jackson and a three-pointer from Jake LaRavia brought Memphis to 15 points.

Key statistics

Memphis, which leads the league with an average of 30 assists per game, had 36 assists on its 47 baskets. That combination allowed the Grizzlies to win their first-ever NBA Cup game after losing 4-0 in the inaugural 2023 tournament.

Next

The Pelicans travel to New York to play the Knicks on Sunday, the same day Memphis completes a four-game home stretch against Indiana.

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