In a nail-biter season opener, the Memphis Grizzlies won their 2016-17 home opener 102-98 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at FedExForum. The opening night victory marks the second win in Memphis franchise history with the only other victory occurring in 2014 also against the Timberwolves.
Wednesday night’s game featured the coaching debuts of both Grizzlies’ David Fizdale and Timberwolves’ Tom Thibodeau for their respective teams. Coach Fizdale became the first Memphis Grizzlies coach to win his head-coaching debut since Tony Barone Sr. in 2006.
After a 20-3 run by Minnesota to start the game, the Grizzlies answered by making six of nine of their three-point shots in the first quarter. Memphis averaged only 6.14 three pointers made per game last season.
Trailing by one point with 1:37 remaining in the game, the Memphis Grizzlies took the lead on a 7-0 run and led throughout the rest of the night. Five Grizzlies scored in double figures. Mike Conley led the team with 24 points while James Ennis recorded 15, JaMychal Green 12, and Marc Gasol 18. Zach Randolph recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. In his regular season Grizzlies debut, rookie guard Wade Baldwin IV led the team in assists (6) and scored seven points with five rebounds, three steals and three blocks in 25 minutes. With today’s season opener, Vince Carter (3 points and 7 rebounds) played his 1,275th career regular season game surpassing Terry Porter for 26th place in NBA history.
The Minnesota Timberwolves had four players score in double figures. Andrew Wiggins led the team with 25 points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, scoring 14 of them in the first quarter while Zach LaVine recorded 19. Gorgui Dieng snagged a double-double with 12 points and led in rebounds grabbing a game high 14 boards.
The Grizzlies are back on the court on Saturday, Oct. 29 as they take on the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Fans can catch all the action on FOX Sports Southeast at 6:30 p.m. CT.
Next Game
The Grizzlies will travel to New York to take on the new-look Knicks on Saturday Oct. 29 at 6:30pm.
Next Home Game
The Grizzlies will return home to face the Washington Wizards on Sunday, Oct. 30 at 7pm.
Key Stat of the Night
- The Grizzlies connected on six three-point attempts (on nine attempts) in the first quarter after averaging 6.14 three-pointers made per game last season. Memphis finished with 11 three-point makes on 24 attempts (.458) after making 11-or-more just four times all of last season.
Key Runs of the Night
- Trailing by one with 1:37 remaining in the game, the Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:13 to take a 98-93 lead.
- After Minnesota scored the first basket of the second half, Memphis scored 16 straight points to claim its first lead of the game (66-61).
More Game Shots
Team Quotes
Player Notes
- Mike Conley led the Grizzlies in scoring with 24 points.
- Marc Gasol knocked down his first three-point attempt of the season, finishing with 18 points and a career-high in three-point attempts (3).
- Zach Randolph posted a double-double, scoring 19 points and leading the team with 11 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Randolph had nine points and four rebounds in seven minutes in the fourth quarter.
- Wade Baldwin led the team with six assists in his NBA regular season debut while also recording seven points, five rebounds and three blocks. Baldwin is the first player since at least the 1983-84 season to record at least five rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks in his career debut.
- Andrew Harrison became the ninth Grizzlies player to start in his NBA regular season debut, logging a game-high 38 minutes.
- Vince Carter played his 1,275th career regular season game to pass Terry Porter for 26th all-time in career games played.
- After averaging 15.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in the final nine games of last season with New Orleans, James Ennis picked up where he left off, posting 15 points and six rebounds on 5-of-8 shooting.
- Gasol and Randolph both hit three-pointers as teammates in the same game for the third time in their careers (Feb. 2, 2011 at Minnesota, April, 1, 2011 at New Orleans).
- Karl-Anthony Towns scored 14 points (6-of-7 FG) in the first quarter but was held to seven points (4-of-13 FG) over the final three quarters.
- Gorgui Dieng posted a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds after recording 15 double-doubles last season. Dieng’s rebound total is good for fifth in franchise history on opening night.