Despite a late rally, the Memphis Grizzlies were unable to overcome the hole they dug on offense and fell 114–106 to the Detroit Pistons Monday night. It marks the Grizzlies’ third-consecutive loss.
Memphis trimmed a 21-point deficit to three in the fourth quarter before Cade Cunningham — who scored 33 points, including 19 in the final period — closed the door for Detroit.
The loss dropped the Grizzlies to 3–5 overall and 2–3 at home, while the Pistons improved to 5–2 and earned their first wire-to-wire win of the season.
Head coach Tuomas Iisalo said the Grizzlies matched Detroit’s physicality for much of the night but couldn’t sustain it down the stretch. He pointed to rebounding and early offensive rhythm as key issues. “We did a good job matching their physicality for a long stretch,” Iisalo said. “But we gave up crucial rebounds late and couldn’t get shots to fall in the first half. The paint points, 58, that’s too much. We’ve got to be ready to play from the first moment on.”
On the player side:
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half behind 6-of-11 shooting and a season-high four 3-pointers.
Jackson said the team’s issue wasn’t effort but consistency. “We gave ourselves a chance at the end,” he said. “We’ve just got to start games the right way. When we wait to respond, teams build that cushion, and it’s hard to claw back every night.”
Ja Morant, returning from a one-game suspension, recorded 18 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds — his first double-double of the season.
Morant helped energize the team in the second half by pushing the pace and creating open looks, but turnovers continued to stall the offense. Memphis committed 20 turnovers, leading to 33 Pistons points.
I repeat: the Grizzlies surrendered a staggering THIRTY-THREE points off 20 turnovers, in a game they lost by eight.
Jaylen Wells’ shooting woes continued—he finished the night with just 4 points on 2 of 14 overall shooting and 0 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Wells does have the distinction of being the only Grizzlies player who didn’t commit a turnover. Save thanks for small favors, I guess.
Rookie forward Cedric Coward provided a spark off the bench with 17 points and six rebounds, marking his seventh double-figure outing in eight career games.
Afterward, Coward said the game offered plenty of lessons. “I had a rough start with turnovers and needed to be more physical,” he said. “But my teammates and coaches helped me adjust. Guarding a guy like Cade — I’ll take a lot from that. The urgency we played with late is what we need all the time.”
Charles Bassey added a bright spot in his team debut, collecting 10 rebounds in 15 minutes, including five on the offensive glass.
Bassey was signed to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception on October 26th.
Some additional team numbers:
Detroit currently leads the league in paint points, and they outscored Memphis 58–30 in the paint, while out-rebounding the Grizzlies 52–39. The Pistons scored 24 of their 58 paint points in the first quarter and led 60–48 at halftime.
Memphis closed the third quarter on a 12–0 run to cut the lead to nine before Cunningham took over late.
The Grizzlies never led, earning their first wire-to-wire loss of the season.
We’re only eight games into the season, so there’s still time for the Grizzlies to turn this thing around.
It is my sincerest hope that, as we see injured players return to the lineup, this team will start to look more like the Grizzlies squad we know and love.
Otherwise, it might be a very long season ahead.
Author’s note: Between the three-game losing streak and the ongoing tensions between the front office and the Grizzlies star player, I decided we could all use some levity so I’m bringing back the bear memes.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies will look to regroup when they host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night at FedExForum to continue their four-game homestand. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.