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Tim BontempsESPN
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The first team to claim a spot in the NBA’s first-in-a-play tournament is the Memphis Grizzlies.
After dropping six of her first seven games here in the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort to fall from eighth place in the Western Conference, Memphis rode a massive performance by Jonas Valanciunas – 26 points , 19 rebounds and 12 assists for his first career triple-double – to pull away from the Milwaukee Bucks and claim a 119-106 victory.
The win gave the Grizzlies one of two spots in the league’s first tournament, which will begin on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. The second team in the tournament will be the Phoenix Suns, who routed the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday afternoon, as well as the Portland Trail Blazers, who play one hour in one of the final games of the day here against the Brooklyn Nets. .
If Portland wins, it will be the eighth seed – meaning it will only have to win Saturday’s game, if, as the ninth-seeded Grizzlies beat the Blazers, Sunday afternoon’s rematch. If Portland loses, Memphis would be the eighth seed, and the Suns – who went undefeated in the bubble here – would be the ninth seed.
It’s been a rollercoaster ride for Memphis here, as the Grizzlies brutally lost their first two games here – an overtime loss to the Blazers (which is now terribly big), and a two-point loss to the San Antonio Spurs thanked after a few free throws from DeMar DeRozan with a remaining second – and then saw star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. lost for the rest of the season after injuring his meniscus in his left knee the team’s third game, a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Grizzlies, who were already without back-point guard Tyus Jones (knee), wrestled without Jackson, managed to win one game – a blowout win over the Thunder last Friday – but otherwise every bit was needed from the 3.5-game advantage she had on the five teams behind her in the Western Conference standings that entered the bubble.
Portland passed Memphis when the Grizzlies lost to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday and Damian Lillard scored 61 points to lead the Blazers past the Dallas Mavericks. That left the Grizzlies in the ninth for the first time since their arrival in Orlando, but still left them in control of their own destiny with a win against the Bucks.
The league-leading Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who were suspended after the Wizards were ahead of Moritz Wagner in their game Wednesday, as were Wesley Matthews and George Hill, played their remaining regulars – Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Pat Connaughton and Brook Lopez – each about 20 minutes, but otherwise left the game in the hands of the players at the end of their bench. Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins was the staff of Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee last season, and with him with the Atlanta Hawks for the previous five seasons, before he was hired to coach the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies gradually took control of the game as it dried up, increasing an advantage from one point to the first quarter to 10 points to two and 19 points to three, leaving the final 12 minutes of the game in doubt.
However, Jenkins took no chances – especially after several teams saw massive leads slip into rapid fashion in the fourth quarter of games recently, including the Miami Heat on that very same court Wednesday night. Jenkins returned his starters – including presumptive rookie of the year Ja Morant – to the game with eight minutes to go and the Grizzlies leading by 19 points, removing them with only a few minutes left in the game with the game still well in hand.
Valanciunas – who has never had more than five assists in a game on Thursday – was not the only Grizzly to have a big game on Thursday. Dillon Brooks had 31 points in 33 minutes, and Morant finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists – making him and Valanciunas the 12th teammate to record a triple-double in the same game, according to ESPN’s Stats and Information Group. with the latest Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in December.
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