The Grizzlies got one in the win column Saturday night, scraping by the Chicago Bulls 125-124, splitting the season series 1-1, and snapping a five-game losing streak.
Despite the Grizzlies having 25 more shot attempts than the Bulls, a season-high 107 to the Bulls’ 82, they snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat, winning by a single point.
Let’s get into it, but first, a little related housekeeping.
Memphis added a new player to their season roster, at least temporarily.
On Saturday morning, the Grizzlies announced they had signed French forward Adama Bal to a 10-day contract.
Per the media release:
Adama Bal (6’-7,” 190 lbs.) has appeared in 29 games (two starts) during the 2025-26 NBA G League Tip-Off Tournament and regular season and has averaged 7.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 18.4 minutes for the Westchester Knicks in his first NBA season after going unselected in the 2025 NBA Draft.
A native of Le Mans, France, the 22-year-old played for Centre Federal de Basket-ball in Paris for two seasons (2019-21) before playing collegiately at Arizona (2021-23) and Santa Clara (2023-25), where he was named to the All-West Coast Conference twice as a junior and senior.
Bal was made available and made his NBA debut in a Grizzlies uniform on Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls. In 27:34 minutes of playing time, he scored three points on 1 of 8 overall shooting and 1 of 5 from beyond the arc, along with two rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming …
This game had no business being this stressful. Absolutely none.
It was a back-and-forth game throughout, but the final seconds proved to be one of the most intense finishes Memphis survived for a win this season.
A high-scoring third quarter, led by a scoring burst from forward Rayan Rupert, erased the two-point deficit the Grizzlies carried into the second half. Rupert scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter.
Memphis scored 42 points on 17-of-31 shots in the third quarter, the most field goals made in any quarter this season. And with a Cedric Coward floater at the buzzer, they entered the fourth quarter with a 98-88 lead.
The Bulls outscored the Grizzlies 36-27 in the fourth quarter and forced seven ties and four lead changes in the period.
Walter Clayton Jr.’s three-point make that gave Memphis the lead back with 15 seconds left on the clock was a Hail Mary that paid off for the Grizzlies. Prior to that, Clayton Jr. was 0 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Chicago guard Josh Giddey answered with a dunk that cut the Grizzlies’ lead to one.
Cedric Coward made two clutch free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining to extend the Grizzlies’ lead back to 125-122.
Then back to Giddey for two free throws, pushing the score to the final 125-124.
Coward’s turnover off the inbounds pass with four seconds on the clock almost cost Memphis the game, but Collin Sexton’s layup came after the final buzzer.
By The Numbers:
Colin Coward scored a team-high 24 points, shooting 10 of 19 overall and 2 of 6 from three-point range, along with nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Rayan Rupert finished the night with 14 points, 12 of which came during a third-quarter explosion, along with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 12 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
GG Jackson scored 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Tyler Burton led the second unit with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
Jahmai Mashack added 17 points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
DeJon Jarreau finished with 14 points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies will continue their homestand on Monday night against the Phoenix Suns. Tip-off is at 7 PM CDT.