Ty Jerome scored eight of his 15 points in the final six minutes — including two clutch free throws with 11.6 seconds remaining — to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 110-105 victory Monday over the Utah Jazz. The Grizzlies won their fourth straight game to open the season for only the second time in franchise history.
Cedric Coward had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Wells added 14 points and Cam Boozer and Jerami Grant each scored 13 for Memphis.
Keyonte George had 26 points for the Jazz and Ace Bailey contributed 17 points and 10 boards. Mo Bamba added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Utah lost two starters in the first half to injury. Jaren Jackson Jr., the former Grizzlies’ star, injured his right knee in the second quarter and did not return. Lauri Markkanen injured his right wrist early in the first quarter and did not return.
The Grizzlies never trailed after taking the lead midway through the first quarter. Utah rallied in the fourth to trim the deficit to one point on two occasions, the last coming with 1:01 remaining following a shot by Bamba. Two free throws by Wells with 41 seconds left put Memphis ahead 108-105 before Jerome sank two more with 11.6 to go.
Memphis led by six at halftime before Utah trimmed the Grizzlies lead to one (58-57) early in the third quarter on a three-point play by George. The Grizzlies gradually extended their lead to 10 points late in the third quarter (76-66) following a driving dunk from reserve center Quinten Post. Memphis led by 13 entering the fourth quarter after Post converted on an in-bounds lob.
The Grizzlies built a 15-point lead at 45-30 in the second quarter behind the long-range shooting of Jerami Grant. He had two 3-pointers during the first minutes of the quarter. Utah rallied to cut its deficit to six points (58-52) at halftime. George had 17 points at the break.
