If I told you that the Memphis Grizzlies would beat the Houston Rockets by 49 points, you’d probably assume that we’d see big games from Ja Morant, Kyle Anderson, or Jonas Valanciunas. I mean, the Rockets are bad, but 49 points?
That was the odd thing about Sunday’s game; the Grizzlies normal heavy contributors didn’t play a ton and definitely didn’t fill up the stat sheet. The game was such a blowout that the starters weren’t even on the floor for a lot of the match.
Morant, Valanciunas, and Dillon Brooks all combined for only 20 points. This total would be matched by Justise Winslow alone, giving him his first strong game as a Grizzly.
The Memphis Grizzlies’ bench led this team to a historic win
Winslow wasn’t the only bench player to step up, either. In fact, the Memphis Grizzlies’ starting lineup only accounted for 48 of the team’s points last night. The rest were spread pretty evenly across the bench unit.
Beyond the starters, we saw five unique players score in double figures. Plus, every player who entered the game was able to get on the score sheet, including Killian Tillie, who played in his first game with the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team in the win against the Rockets.
The most notable stat from this blowout was the Grizzlies 16 steals. They forced 23 total turnovers for the rockets, leading to 35 points, which almost matches the final margin of the game.
This was in large part due to a bench unit that was clicking on all cylinders. Which players were giving this team the best production?