Grizzlies win NBA summer league title
The Grizzlies came to NBA summer league to start developing an identity. They left as champions. Memphis beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 95-92 on Monday night at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas to win the franchise's first NBA summer league title.
The win caps an 8-2 run through two summer leagues. The team finished 2-1 in Salt Lake City and 6-1 in the Las Vegas showcase event, which featured all 30 NBA teams and two international teams.
Brandon Clarke posted his third straight double-double on Monday, scoring 15 points and grabbing 16 rebounds as he validated his crown as NBA summer league MVP.
Memphis jumped to a 16-point lead in the first quarter and led 5640 at halftime before the Timberwolves staged a third-quarter rally to cut their deficit to 72-70 entering the fourth.
Grayson Allen extended the Grizzlies' lead to 93-83 with 2:03 remaining on a floater before the Timberwolves infused some drama by cuthead ting the Memphis lead to one in the final minute.
Five Grizzlies reached double figures in the game, led by 17 points from Allen, who rebounded from a rocky stretch to shoot 6-of-13 from the field in the finale.
Bruno Caboclo and Dusty Hannahs added 15 points each, and Tyler Harvey added 12.
The team's success in Las Vegas came as a byproduct of a larger focus on gaining familiarity with first-year coach Taylor Jenkins' philosophies.
"Honestly, it's really focused on us," Jenkins said after the team improved to 3-0 in Las Vegas with a win against Phoenix last week. "Whatever happens, the results will be what they are." A championship will do. Reach Grizzlies beat writer David Cobb at david.cobb@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @Davidwcobb.