POSTGAME NOTES Memphis Grizzlies 108, Portland Trail Blazers 103 Key Stats Of The Night MarShon Brooks scored a team-high 21 points (7-12 FG, 5-5 3P, 2-2 FT), including 14 points (4-4 3P) in the fourth quarter, off the bench in his Grizzlies debut and first NBA contest since April 16, 2014. Brooks signed a 10-day contract with the team yesterday after spending the 2017-18 season and previous two seasons with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association. The Grizzlies outscored the Trail Blazers 32-22 in the fourth quarter. Key Run Of The Night After C.J. McCollum tied the game at 99 with 2:05 remaining, a MarShon Brooks three followed by a Kobi Simmons layup gave Memphis a 104-99 lead with 59.9 seconds left. Prior to Simmons’ layup, Brooks blocked a Pat Connaughton field goal attempt 10 feet from the basket, eventually leading to two missed free throws from Jusuf Nurkic. Team Notables Of Memphis’ 21 victories this season, 11 have come against teams currently in playoff position, including the Grizzlies’ consecutive victories over the Portland Trail Blazers (tonight) and Minnesota Timberwolves (Monday). The Grizzlies earned consecutive wins for the first time since winning three straight from Jan. 15-19. Memphis leads the regular season series 2-1. The teams will meet one final time on April 1 at the Moda Center. The Grizzlies’ win snapped a seven-game road winning streak for Portland. Memphis was much more efficient from three-point range, shooting 52.0 percent (13-25 3P) while the Trail Blazers shot just 26.7 percent (8-30 3P). The Grizzlies earned the win despite shooting just 56.5 percent (13-23 FT) from the free throw line. Memphis’ bench outscored Portland’s 61-31. Player Notables Dillon Brooks posted 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting after scoring just two points Monday night at Minnesota. Chandler Parsons also scored 18 points to go with six rebounds, marking his second highest scoring total this season. Jarell Martin grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. C.J. McCollum (42 points, 16-25 FG) posted his second-highest scoring total of the season and also the second-highest individual scoring effort against the Grizzlies this season, including 16 points in the opening frame and 25 by halftime. Wade Baldwin IV scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting in his first game back at FedExForum. Baldwin spent his rookie season with the Grizzlies in 2016-17.
TRAIL BLAZERS HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS: On the game: “I thought Memphis played a really good game. A lot of young guys played hard – a guy like MarShon Brooks who has been out of the league for three years and has an outstanding game. Chandler Parsons has had a rough season, and he has one of his best games of the year. They played hard and they deserved to win the game. We didn’t do the things consistently throughout the game to win. We had our moments, but for every good moment we had, we had a bad one, and we just didn’t play well enough to win.” On missed free throws: “In the fourth quarter, you have to make free throws. You can’t miss free throws, and you have to guard better. You can’t give up 32 points in the fourth quarter and have turnovers and missed free throws. Not going to win many games like that.” On Wade Baldwin IV’s game: “I was very happy for Wade. For him to come in and have the game he had against his old team. I wish we could’ve gotten the win for him.” On CJ McCollum’s offensive performance: “He was very good in the first half. I don’t know if he got tired or not. Obviously, he shot the ball well. Couldn’t ask for much more from him.” On missing Damian Lillard and Moe Harkless: “As people have noted, on occasion we have played teams without the best player. That happens from time to time, so no excuses.”
wade baldwin iv (15 POINTS, 4 REBOUNDS) On tonight’s game: “It was definitely refreshing getting out and playing with the guys who we’ve been working hard at practice with. I was grateful for the opportunity to be back on an NBA floor. This team has been on a good winning streak. It hurts to lose especially with the direction we’re trying to go in as a team seeing that the playoffs are going to be beginning soon.” On what stuck out most about the loss: “Coach talked about our lapses at times. I think that was a key component to why we lost and they were a hungry team. They played hard, so we have to give respect to them.” On his mindset coming into the game: “Like I said before, I’m going to approach it professionally. I think all that was left behind. I need to do what I need to do on this team to try and help them win. I have a lot more to prove. I was thankful that I was even able to play today. It gave me an opportunity, but one game does not dictate anything.” On the direction he’s going: “I had my first game last year in the NBA, had an NBA record, kind of went downhill from there, so it was nice to see this step, and with an opportunity to be in the game, I have to be consistent with it.”
GRIZZLIES INTERIM HEAD COACH J.B. BICKERSTAFF: On the win: “I mean, you know it feels good, but it felt better because we did it the right way. We had a bunch of different guys who contributed and that’s what this game is all about. It’s about the team. No one is going to be able to carry you. We had a bunch of guys who came out of nowhere. MarShon (Brooks) in his first game with us was able to contribute. Kobi Simmons played huge minutes for us down the stretch and was active and made some key plays. That’s what the game is about. You get a group of guys together who are willing to sacrifice for one another, you never know what can happen.” On MarShon Brooks: “If you look back, he’s a bucket getter. You look at what he’s done since he’s been in the Chinese league. That’s what he does. He scores the ball. You don’t have to run plays for him. The ball finds him and one-on-one situations, you see he’s hard to guard. His ability to make shots from deep puts pressure on defenses. Now they’ve got to come out and get him. Some of the little shots around the rim he missed, he normally makes. He got to his spots. You see what some experience, veteran experience, can do for you.” On what Dillon Brooks means to the team this season: ”It’s growth from a guy who obviously was drafted in the second round. Everybody in the league passed on him. Could have just given in. Could have just said everybody must be right but he didn’t. He is probably one of our most diligent workers. He’s going to be a very good player in this league for a long time. The best thing about him is he may make some mistakes, but it’s not because of a lack of being aggressive or lack of effort. He puts pressure on you every single night. We put him on one of the best scorers in the league tonight and obviously he got off a little bit, but he never ran from the challenge. He got scored on the next play but was right back in it. CJ (McCollum) is obviously a heck of a player and was able to make those plays but again, he never backed down and that’s how you get better and how you get a rep in this league. On the bench through the end of the season: “I think we’re going to give guys who maybe have not played a ton of minutes an opportunity to play quite a bit. You see with Kobi Simmons tonight, guys like Wayne Selden, Deyonta Davis, we’re going to give them an opportunity to play and they’ve got to be prepared to play. Close games like this is great experience for young guys. Most of the NBA games are won in the fourth quarter so how do you handle that pressure, how do you handle those situations? It’s great experience for them.” On the season: “I mean it’s been up and down obviously. The beginning of the season I think we were all excited. Then we went on the streak. Then the change happens, so obviously that’s a very difficult time. As you’re going through this, you’re in a position of leadership, you’ve got to stay steady as best you can through all those times. Our guys I think have done a really good job of doing that. They haven’t got too high or got too low when we’ve been at our lowest points. They’ve always figured out a way to scrap, claw and come up with a win at some point in time. Even when they weren’t winning, they continued to compete. They continued to show up every day to practice and work. It’s been difficult at times obviously, but this group of guys has made it easier.” On CJ McCollum being troublesome for the Grizzlies this season: “He’s a heck of a player. I thought our guys did a good job of getting to him. It wasn’t like his shots were easy shots. It wasn’t like he was getting wide open shots, but he’s one of the most prolific scorers in the league. He took 25 shots tonight I believe. You give a guy like that the opportunity to take 25 shots, you’re going to be in trouble.” On evaluating players at this point in the season: “I think it’s an opportunity to see what you’ve got. Give guys an opportunity to compete, give guys an opportunity to perform in game-like situations. There’s only so much you can see in practice. Until you get on the floor, tipoff time when the lights are shining bright, that’s when you see who guys truly are. So this is a great opportunity for evaluation and a great opportunity for those guys.”
GRIZZLIES GUARD MARSHON BROOKS (21 POINTS, 2 ASSISTS) On playing his first NBA game in four years (since April 16, 2014): “This is a good feeling. I’ve been putting in a lot of work. I’ve had a lot of time to think, especially giving time to myself, on what I want to do better when I get back. So I’ve just been working on my game. With the opportunity that Chris Wallace gave me, I just want to try to run with it and this is a good start. I’ve got three more games left on my 10-day (contract). I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.” On his emotions: “I’m going to stay level-headed because I’ve had big games in the league before. I’m happy, I’m happy. It’s kind of a relief because not playing for four years, you can be the most confident guy in the world, and then not playing for four years makes you wonder. It’s a testament to hard work.” On getting in a zone tonight: “I was able to create some shots for myself. I think I left some out there, honestly. I left some floaters out there but they’ll come with me, getting more comfortable as well.” On his experience playing in China: “With time, I’m 29 years old now; my last game in the NBA, I was 25. That’s a big difference. You just look at things a little different. You just want to seize the opportunity. I understand exactly what’s going on now compared to at 25. I took it serious, but not as serious as I should’ve. Like I said, it’s just a testament to hard work. I’ve been in situations, with me playing China, one thing I can say is I’ve had the ball and I’ve shot a lot. Reps work.” On the ball finding him: “I was kind of confused out there just with me being here for two days. Coach (J.B. Bickerstaff) has been doing a good job walking through it with me but when you’re in game speed, I was messing up a few of the plays. But the ball found me and I just kind of let my talent take over to just try to get a good shot for myself and my teammates. Today it fell.” On when his season in China was over: “The 26th. The flight was 18 hours. I went home and saw my son then I headed here.” On whether he was experiencing any jet lag from the flight from China: “I have a hard time sleeping at night. There’s a 12-hour difference between here and the city I was living in. I kind of get energy at around one o’clock (a.m.) and I get tired in the day time. I’m coming along these last couple of days though.” On the fourth quarter: “I just wanted to get a win. I knew that was going to be good. It wouldn’t have been as good if we didn’t get the win because this team has been struggling but we’re on a two game winning streak now. But the main thing I was thinking of was that we have got to win this game. Just make the little plays so we can win the game and that’s what we did tonight.” GRIZZLIES FORWARD CHANDLER PARSONS (15 POINTS, 3 REBOUNDS) On winning two in a row: “It feels good. It feels much better to win than what we’ve been doing. There’s still stuff to salvage in these last couple of games here. Keep trying to build, keep trying to get better, keep trying to build up everybody, and not let these young guys get accustomed to losing. Just keep trying to help one another, stay healthy, and continue to try and win as many games as possible.” On MarShon Brooks: “That’s the kind of guy he is; we came in together. If you remember, he was a bucket-getter in New Jersey, it’s what he does. So I’m not really surprised but really happy for him to come in and play the way he did to basically carry the team in the fourth quarter and get us a big win.”
Had to look it up myself. Apparently he was first player since 1983-84 (as far back as basketball reference's game logs go back) with a 5×3 game in an NBA debut, scoring seven points with five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks.
ah, i was sitting here scratching my head looking at his game. didnt even realize that could be a "record".
