Cameron Boozer Says He 'Needed That Game' After Triple-Double vs. Trail Blazers

Cameron Boozer scored 14 points against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday and 13 against the Utah Jazz on Monday. On Thursday night at Moda Center, the 19-year-old had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists in the Memphis Grizzlies' 124-103 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Five games into his career, Boozer has the second-youngest triple-double in NBA history. Memphis is 5-0 and 4-0 on the road, and Portland had won its first three games.

Boozer felt a little out of rhythm in the two games before Portland, though the wins mattered most to him.

"It's crazy," Boozer said. "Tonight was a lot of fun. It was a great win. Started the season 5-0, but I feel like I needed that game, kind of getting the rhythm, making the right plays, things like that. So overall, it was a great game."

Boozer started at forward with Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Ty Jerome, and Jaylen Wells. His 24-footer off a Coward pass at 8:35 of the first quarter was the first Memphis 3-pointer of the night, and Coward hit one off a Boozer pass 32 seconds later. All 10 of his second-quarter points came in the final 3:26 of the half: two free throws, a pull-up 3-pointer, a putback, and another pull-up 3.

In 28:09, he went 6-of-10 from the field, 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and 2-of-2 at the line. Ten of his 12 rebounds came on the defensive glass, and he was a plus-20.

Through three quarters, he had 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. His 10th rebound came with 6:08 left in the fourth. At 5:31, his 10th assist set up a Coward step-back 3-pointer that made it 111-89.

He set up two layups after that and hit a 26-foot 3-pointer at 2:46 for a 120-96 lead. Boozer checked out 13 seconds later.

Five of his 12 assists went for 3-pointers: two to Quinten Post, two to Coward, and one to Wells. Two went to Edey, including a dunk on the first basket of the night.

"I think one thing is also relying on your teammates," Boozer explained. "You dump it off to Zach a couple times, [set up] a couple threes, people will start getting going. It opens it up for you as well. When I'm playing like that, the game's a lot of fun. Everyone eats, and it's a great team win overall."

Boozer went 2-of-15 in the season opener against Utah on Oct. 21. Across five games, he has scored 7, 25, 14, 13, and 18 points, a total of 77 and an average of 15.4.

In Monday's win at Utah, he had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in 30:31.

Learning and improving inside the season is what Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo has seen from him.

"Took him long enough," Iisalo said. "Fifth game already. No, he's unbelievable. And really, the good part about it is, even if you're 19 and you're playing at that level, the NBA still finds a way to drop you in the deep end. And that's what happened in the previous two games against Sacramento and against Utah, and it's the best place for development."

"So he had some stuff that he needed to clean up for this game and do better, and very satisfied that he was able to do it," Iisalo continued. "And that's what he's showing, consistent ability to keep learning and keep improving within the season. Very happy about that, and overall just fantastic team performance."

Memphis took Boozer with the third pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after one season at Duke. The Grizzlies were coming off a 25-57 finish. On June 29, they traded Ja Morant to Portland for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray.

Boozer expects to take another step this season.

"I would just say my versatility has grown every year," Boozer said, "and I think for me I'll definitely take another step this year and hope I continue to take steps throughout my whole career. So I'd say I'm definitely at the highest level right now."

Sacramento visits FedExForum on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. The Kings are 0-5.