Memphis blew a 20-point lead in Germany. A historic Berlin showcase turned into another painful reminder of their late-game struggles.
The stage was historic, the start was dominant, and the finish left the Memphis Grizzlies searching for answers once again. In the NBA’s first regular-season game played in Germany, the Grizzlies surrendered a 20-point second-quarter lead and fell 118-111 to the Orlando Magic on Thursday night in Berlin, opening a two-game European swing with a result that mirrored too many of their recent losses.
Paolo Banchero powered Orlando with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Franz Wagner scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a symbolic return to the lineup. Wagner, who missed more than a month with a high ankle sprain, played in his native country and shared the floor with his brother, Moritz, for the first time in more than a year.
For Memphis, the night began with authority behind Jaren Jackson Jr., who scored 30 points and anchored the Grizzlies to a 52-32 lead midway through the second quarter. Santi Aldama added 18 points, and Cedric Coward finished with 17 as Memphis appeared firmly in control.
That grip loosened quickly. Orlando trimmed the deficit to nine by halftime, then seized momentum with a 13-0 run late in the third quarter to take an 84-73 lead. Memphis fought back and briefly reclaimed the advantage when GG Jackson finished a layup to make it 105-102 with 4:05 remaining, but the closing stretch unraveled.
Wagner tied the game with a 3-pointer and scored five of Orlando’s final seven points, while the Grizzlies went scoreless on their last possessions.
Afterward, Jackson did not shy away from his role in the stalled offense during crunch time, emphasizing the need for greater assertiveness as defenses tighten.
“Everyone is capable of making a play late,” Jackson said. “But I need to be more assertive in coming to get the ball. I think there were times when they were denying me. If you look at me and think I’m open for a second and then try to do something else, I might not be open again.”
Jackson noted that Orlando’s pressure and the shot clock compounded those moments.
“There are a lot of factors that go into it,” he said. “But their pressure sped us up a little bit, and that’s one thing we needed to be more mindful of late.”
Jackson’s stat line illustrated the imbalance of the performance. Along with his 30 points, he recorded two blocks and two steals but only three rebounds, none on the offensive glass, with four turnovers. He went 3-for-9 in the second half as Orlando tilted the game.
Memphis played without Ja Morant, who remained sidelined with a right calf injury. Still, there was some optimism around the Grizzlies’ star. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday he believes Morant could return Sunday when the teams meet again in London.
Despite the disappointment, Jackson said the Grizzlies have not allowed fatigue, travel, or off-court noise to fracture their focus.
“When the game starts, that’s all we think about,” he said. “It’s X’s and O’s. It’s about playing hard and doing what we’ve practiced. We just want to get a better result in London.”
Head coach Tuomas Iisalo pointed to extended lapses and rebounding as the decisive issues, framing the collapse as part of the modern game’s volatility.
“Modern basketball has a lot of ups and downs,” Iisalo said. “For about 10 minutes we played very poorly. It is very difficult to beat a team at this level when that happens, especially when you lose the possession battle as significantly as we did tonight on the boards.”
The night also underscored the NBA’s growing international reach. The league previously played a preseason game in what was then West Germany in 1984, when only 10 international players were on NBA rosters. This season opened with a record 135 international players, including 71 from Europe. Fans from 62 countries purchased tickets for Thursday’s game, with more than 250,000 registering interest online.
The Grizzlies now head to London seeking a different ending — and answers that have followed them well beyond Memphis.