If Santa didn’t bring you what you wanted for Christmas, the Memphis Grizzlies have got you covered with an epic win in their last home game of 2024.
After a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers the day before Christmas Eve, the Grizzlies returned to their home court for a Boxing Day beatdown of the Toronto Raptors of astronomic proportions.
With a final score of 155-126, the Grizzlies set a franchise-record and the highest-scoring game of any NBA team this season.
The Grizzlies took the floor like a raging bull in the first period, countering every Raptors attempt at an offensive run while exploiting Toronto’s defensive weakness, forcing their defenders into shooting fouls that sent them to the free throw line five times.
Ja Morant earned all four of his first-quarter points from the charity stripe.
Memphis was outshot 60.9 percent to 55.6 percent from the field and 45.5 percent to 30 percent from beyond the arc in that first quarter, but the Raptors’ foul trouble led to a 10 to three free throw disparity that the Grizzlies used to close out the first quarter with a 43-35 lead.
Their perfect 10 of 10 free throw shooting made the difference in the score, but Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey were the stars of the show, combining for 24 points in the first quarter.
Despite Toronto overcoming a 19-point deficit to tie the game at 66 with less than three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Grizzlies never allowed the Raptors to take the lead. Memphis pushed back in the final minutes of the period and took an eight-point lead into the second half.
A 43-point third quarter propelled the Grizzlies to a franchise-record 121 points through three quarters. Unlike in the first quarter, Memphis had only one free throw attempt, scoring the remaining 42 points the old-fashioned way — by stomping the Raptors hard into the ground on every possession, destroying them on the boards (21-13), limiting their shot attempts (37-29), and outscoring them 18-6 from beyond the arc.
The fourth quarter went off the rails quickly for the Raptors after Toronto head coach (and former Memphis assistant coach) Darko Rajaković was ejected for a heated outburst at a referee.
There was 10:29 left on the game clock when Rajaković exploded over the lack of a foul call, charged onto the court, and had to be restrained by members of his staff. There will no doubt be a fine coming for Rajaković from the league, and he certainly got his money’s worth, as seen in the video below:
The remainder of the game was mostly the Grizzlies bench playing with their food.
Three of the five starters (Jaylen Wells, Desmond Bane, and Ja Morant) sat for the fourth quarter.
Luke Kennard scored 12 of his 15 points in the final frame, shooting three of four from the field, two of three from beyond the arc, and four of four from the free-throw line. John Konchar scored six of his nine points in the fourth, finishing the night with a perfect three-of-three shooting from three-point range.
Memphis had eight players finish the night in double-digits, including all five starters.
Zach Edey scored a career-high 21 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Jaren Jackson Jr. got 21 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks.
Desmond Bane put up 19 points, five rebounds, and two assists while shooting three of six from beyond the arc.
Jaylen Wells finished the night with 17 points, one rebound, one assist, and one steal while shooting a game-high five of 10 from three-point range. Wells has been shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc and has made more three-pointers (58) than any other rookie this season.
Ja Morant added 15 points, two rebounds, and nine assists.
From the second unit:
Luke Kennard scored 15 points, eight assists, and one steal.
Scotty Pippen Jr. added 15 points, two rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
Brandon Clarke finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and one block.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are back at it tonight, facing off against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game of a five-game road trip. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CST.