4 Takeaways From Grizzlies’ Win: Ty Jerome, Cameron Boozer and Bench

Memphis had not lost on the road before Monday night, and that did not change in Toronto. The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Raptors 118-102 at Scotiabank Arena, snapping a three-game skid and moving to 7-3.

Toronto played without Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Kawhi Leonard. Memphis lost Quinten Post in the first quarter and was already missing Isaiah Stewart and Scotty Pippen Jr.

Every lead change and all seven ties came before halftime. After that, Memphis never trailed.

Ty Jerome scored 10 of his 27 points in the third quarter. His 30-foot pull-up 3 with 9:51 left made it 65-55, and his floater a little more than a minute later made it 69-55 in the middle of a 12-0 Grizzlies run. When Jamison Battle pulled Toronto within 78-74, Jerome came back down and hit a 27-foot step-back.

Jerome entered Monday third in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring at 8.6 points per game, according to the team’s game notes. He had 40 against New Orleans on Nov. 2, including the final nine points of regulation, in a game Memphis lost in overtime.

Controlling the controllables is the approach Jerome wants Memphis to carry into every game from here.

“We picked up our intensity again,” Jerome said. “We got back to our identity a little bit. I didn’t [check] the stat sheet yet, but we probably won the possession game. I don’t know. I got to see. That was big for us.”

Jerome went 9-of-19 from the field and 5-of-11 from 3-point range. He made all 4 of his free throws.

Cameron Boozer went 11-of-39 from the field across the three losses. That stretch ended with a 2-of-14 night against Oklahoma City in which he missed all 8 of his 3-point tries.

Monday, he went 0-of-5 from deep and 9-of-11 inside the arc. Two of those makes were driving dunks in the third quarter, and two more were floaters in the fourth.

His 8 assists set up six Memphis 3-pointers, including both of Jerami Grant’s in the fourth quarter. Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said those two Grant 3s came on skip passes from Boozer to the left corner.

“Thought he put a lot of downhill pressure,” Iisalo said. “Once he got there, he had a good selection of shots or passes. He made several. He was eight assists, eight rebounds, 22 points. That’s the type of player that I think he can grow into. That he just makes good reads once he gets into the paint, has that touch over there, and this didn’t even come with three-point shots. He was 0-for-5 from the three-point land, and that’s something where he also has an advantage there.”

The box score credited Boozer with 7 rebounds. He also turned it over 6 times. His high is 7, against Sacramento on Oct. 31.

The 19-year-old entered Monday shooting 33.9% from the field. An NBA executive said last week that he is figuring it out.

Zach Edey, who was born in Toronto, finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and a block in 22:45. Once Post left, he was the only center Memphis used the rest of the night.

The Raptors still outscored Memphis 50-42 in the paint, and Jakob Poeltl went 9-of-12 for 18 points. Edey’s own line included 3 turnovers, two of them in the fourth quarter.

Iisalo said Edey is not afraid of looking bad, which he called a requirement for learning.

“Zach always does great,” Iisalo explained. “It doesn’t always show up on the box score, but his impact is felt every night. Whether it’s in the possession game, rebounding ball, or defensively protecting the rim, or just engaging the other guys.”

“We talk a lot about the offensive performances of our guards, but if you look at the tape, it’s also because the opponent is very paranoid about Zach getting open looks,” Iisalo continued. “So his defender, instead of protect the rim, tends to gravitate back towards Zach, which opens up then lanes for our guys, and that is something that you’ll only see in the plus-minus column for him.”

Edey entered averaging 8.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 20.5 minutes.

The Memphis reserves outscored Toronto’s 44-27. Grant scored 17 on 6-of-9 shooting, and Taylor Hendricks added 9 on 4-of-5.

Nothing in the rotation is set in stone this early, Iisalo said. Hendricks had played 4.3 minutes per game in four appearances and sat five times by coach’s decision. He replaced Post at 4:03 of the first quarter, caught an alley-oop from Javon Small 10 seconds later, and finished with 15:41 on the floor.

Grant’s minutes came with a fourth-quarter steal and both of those 3-pointers. The first came 16 seconds after Toronto pulled within a point.

“He had a couple of corner threes from the Booz passes, skip passes to the left corner, knocked those down,” Iisalo said, “but he also scored out of transition, got to the free throw line, made some defensive plays, and it’s just a guy that’s seen a lot. To have his veteran presence in our team, where we have a lot of young guys, not just the locker room presence, but also on the court, to help them and to understand the level of detail that’s necessary. It’s very good for us.”

Jerome said Memphis got contributions from everybody.

“Shout out my guy T-Henny, man,” Jerome explained. “He was great tonight for us, great minutes. But everyone does a great job of staying ready, keeping a positive attitude, and that’s going to be big for us over the course of 82.”

Memphis entered Monday 5-0 when its bench outscored the opponent’s, according to the team’s game notes. The Grizzlies host Denver on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.