NBA: Grizzlies let big lead get away, beat Jazz down stretch

Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) dunks the ball over Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) during the second half of an NBA game at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

Three Memphis players scored at least 22 points and the Grizzlies withstood a big rally from the Utah Jazz for a 126-124 victory in each team’s NBA season opener on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Santi Aldama had team highs with 27 points and five 3-pointers, Desmond Bane scored 24 points and Ja Morant tallied 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for the Grizzlies.

Lauri Markkanen netted a game-high 35 points and added nine rebounds, and six other Jazz players scored in double figures.

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¡Pero qué estreno, @SantiAldama! 😳🐻

27 PUNTOS
5 rebotes
2 asistencias

🇪🇸🔥 ¡Para ganar 126-124! Así se abre una temporada. pic.twitter.com/UH8TGCFrcn

— NBASpain (@NBAspain) October 24, 2024

Bane hit a key 3-pointer with about six minutes left in the fourth quarter to help Memphis reestablish a five-point lead after Utah had rallied out of a 17-point deficit in the second quarter to momentarily go ahead.

Utah tied it again at 116-116 on Walker Kessler’s tip-in with under three minutes remaining.

Morant and Marcus Smart then made key layups in the waning moments to secure the win. Smart finished with 11 points and five boards while playing stifling defense, and Jay Huff added 13 points.

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Kessler had a huge game with 16 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. Jordan Clarkson added 17 points and Collin Sexton 16 for Utah.

Utah outrebounded Memphis 49-41, but the Grizzlies turned 17 turnovers by the Jazz into 24 points and hit seven more 3-pointers (17 vs. 10).

The Jazz scored the game’s first five points on buckets by Sexton and Markkanen.

Memphis answered with an 11-3 run capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Aldama.

Led by Aldama’s points, the Grizzlies burst ahead by as many as 17 points in the opening half before settling on a 61-50 halftime lead.

Utah pulled within 81-79 on a dunk by Taylor Hendricks. The Grizzlies responded with six straight points.

Bridging the third and fourth quarters, Morant scored nine points in a row as Memphis regained a double-digit lead. His assist on a 3-pointer by John Konchar put the Grizzlies up 101-88 earlier in the fourth.

Utah roared back and tied the game 102-102 after a 3-pointer by Hendricks and a three-point play by Markkanen with eight minutes left. Hendricks gave Utah its first lead, 105-104, since early in the first quarter with a free throw.

The lead was short-lived. Bane and Huff hit back-to-back from long range, and Memphis was clutch down the stretch. –Field Level Media