NBA Game Preview - Brooklyn at Memphis
Sun Oct 27, 2019 6:00 PM EDT

GS
92
OKC
120
F
BKN
133
MEM
134
F(OT)
MIA
109
MIN
116
F
POR
121
DAL
119
F
CHA
101
LAL
120
F
Irving-led Nets visit winless Grizzlies
Sat Oct 26, 2019 2:36 PM

Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets take their show on the road for the first time this season when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.

Irving followed up a sparkling 50-point performance in his season debut by highlighting a late surge in the fourth quarter of Brooklyn's 113-109 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday. The six-time All-Star thwarted a late Knicks' rally with a go-ahead, step-back 3-pointer to cap his 26-point night.

"Having a player like that, where you know that he can make plays down the stretch, it gives the team a lot of confidence," Nets forward Joe Harris said. "I don't think any one of us, when the Knicks got up by three there with a like a minute-and-a-half to go, I don't think any of us were worried."

Irving gashed the Grizzlies last season by averaging 32.0 points and 12.0 assists in a pair of victories while playing for Boston.

Spencer Dinwiddie, who pumped in 20 points versus the Knicks, averaged 14.0 points as Brooklyn split its two-game series with Memphis in 2018-19.

While the Nets overcame squandering a 19-point advantage against New York, the Grizzlies failed to maintain a lead they held entering the fourth quarter for the second straight game in a 110-102 loss to Chicago on Friday.

"We kind of got away from what we needed to be doing offensively in the third quarter," Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. "... We have to learn from how the first half is more indicative of what we have to be offensively and defensively. Then we have to get better in the third and fourth quarter."

The Grizzlies were outscored 37-17 in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's 120-101 setback to Miami and 31-21 two nights later versus the Bulls.

Jaren Jackson Jr., who recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds against Chicago, scored a career-high 36 points on 13 of 22 shooting in Memphis' 131-125 double-overtime victory over the Nets on Nov. 30. The fourth overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft highlighted the win over Brooklyn with back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game in regulation.

While Jackson earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors last season, point guard Ja Morant has shown flashes of potential in the first two games of his career. The second overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft has averaged 12.0 points while shooting 9 of 21 from the field, although he has struggled mightily in the fourth quarter -- to the tune of making just 2 of 9 shots with two turnovers and a minus-27 ratio.

"I've got to be better. It's that simple," Morant said, per the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Jackson admitted the losses weighed heavily on him during the Grizzlies' 33-49 campaign in 2018-19.

"I just try to tell (Morant) to move on because it's a long season," Jackson said, per the newspaper. "I would take everything personally, which you've got to do. But there's a fine line. It's his first time at it."

--Field Level Media

Team Record Comparison

Standings GB W-L Aw/Hm Stk L10
Brooklyn  
Memphis  

Hot Players (Last 10 team games)

Injury Report

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