Quick Recap: Desmond Bane Dominates, Grizzlies Overcome Bucks

The Grizzlies are starting the season off strong after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks at home. The victory brings them to an undefeated 2-0 through two games of the preseason.

After a hard-fought, competitive first half the home Grizz were able to pull away from the Bucks. In a pretty dominating fashion, might I add.

Sure, the Bucks were down Giannis, Khris Middleton, and—recently acquired—Lillard… But the Grizzlies were down some starters, too. Producing at this level without Adams and Smart is impressive, regardless.

There was plenty to like in this game, as well as a thing or two that was cause for pause. With this win, Memphis moves to 2-0 this preseason, but has little time to celebrate before it faces the Hawks.

It’s time to find out what the Grizzlies can take away from this victory.

First Quarter

It would be Memphis’ two superstars that powered the team’s offense through the first quarter. I’m, of course, referring to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane.

Trip, in particular, did a little bit of everything through the first 12 minutes of action. He connected from beyond the arc, drove to the basket, and made all three of his free throws in the quarter. It’s the exact thing you want to see post-FIBA from Jaren.

Ziaire Williams also found the basket for five pts in the quarter. The third-year wing had an absolute beauty of a pull-up three about mid-way through the quarter. Z now has five quarters of preseason basketball under his belt and they have been terrific—this new confidence may be the real deal.

End of the quarter, score: Milwaukee 28, Memphis 25

Second Quarter

Jaren and David Roddy would begin the second quarter, with each sinking a three. That would be it for a hot minute, though, as Memphis would sit at 33 points until four minutes remaining in the half.

It would be about five minutes until the Grizzlies found the basket again. Then, thanks to two quick layups from Xavier Tillman, combined with quick baskets from Luke Kennard and Santi Aldama, they would be within three points.

Yet, a barrage from Brook Lopez would keep the Bucks ahead. Both Bane and Trip would close the gap with a spark of their own to close the gap. Milwaukee would enter the half with a two-point lead.

End of the half, score: Milwaukee 53, Memphis 51

Third Quarter

Again, it was Bane and Jackson Jr. who propelled the Grizzlies out of the half. The burst would be enough to give them the slight lead… That is, before Z decided he wanted a bite at the apple.

After a scoreless second quarter, Williams reminded us all who he was with a monster poster jam. It would be him, JJJ, and Bane sharing triple responsibility in keeping Memphis in striking distance.

With about two minutes left in the quarter, the reserves racked up six points in less than a minute. This gave Memphis the lead with one quarter left of basketball. From there, they never looked back.

End of the quarter, score: Memphis 76, Milwaukee 71

Fourth Quarter

David Roddy finally made his presence known in the fourth quarter. Several Grizzlies poured points on a Bucks team that seemed to lose the wind from their sails.

From that point on, it became a numbers game. For every two points Milwaukee would score, Memphis would be right there with six points of its own.

Once the sophomore wings started piling it on—Roddy had eight points in the fourth, while LaRavia had 12 points—the game was virtually over. The Grizzlies moved to 2-0 and will face the Atlanta Hawks this Thursday. Let’s see if we can make it 3-0, boys. Sound good?

End of the quarter, final score: Memphis 108, Milwaukee 102