Roddy’s career night leads Grizzlies to win vs. Mavs
The Memphis Grizzlies pride themselves on depth. With three players who spent most of the season in the rotation out, it was an individual who came through Saturday against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Grizzlies’ offense was quiet through the third quarter. The struggles continued early into the fourth quarter until rookie forward David Roddy had his best performance as an NBA player.
Roddy carried the offense in the fourth quarter, and then Desmond Bane hit a big 3-pointer to give Memphis a four-point lead with a minute left in the game. Of course, it was Roddy who came up with a steal on the next Mavs possession to help seal the Grizzlies’112108 win at Fedexforum.
Roddy scored a career-high 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Bane led the Grizzlies with 25 points.
Memphis (40-26) snapped a fourgame losing streak against the Mavericks. Dallas (34-34) was led by Tim Hardaway Jr. with 23 points.
Here are some takeaways from the game.
A career performance for David Roddy
One of the biggest bright spots for the Grizzlies was Roddy. He knocked down 3-pointers, slashed to the basket through contact and got a big steal that he capped off with a dunk to get the Grizzlies back in the game during the fourth quarter.
The Fedexforum crowd chanted Roddy! after scoring 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter. His previous career-high was 15 points.
New-look Mavs lineup without stars
The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant and Steven Adams, but Saturday’s starting lineup is playing a lot of minutes together over the past week.
Dallas was without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, so the Grizzlies had to guard some unfamiliar faces. Rookie guard Jaden Hardy got the start alongside of Josh Green in the age 22 and under backcourt. Hardy’s quick offensive start caught the attention of Dillon Brooks, who switched onto him and became his primary defender.
A good reversal
The Grizzlies were up six points in the first half after shooting 54.5%. The third quarter is often the Grizzlies’ strongest quarter, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday.
Memphis shot 6-for-19 in the third quarter, and the the defense struggled to get stops. The Mavs outscored the Grizzlies by 12 points to take a sixpoint lead into the fourth quarter.
Roddy’s performance combined with big baskets from Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. helped Memphis overcome those struggles. Usually, Memphis dominates the third quarter and struggles in the fourth. This time it was the other way around.
What’s next
The Grizzlies and Mavericks will face off again on Monday (6:30 p.m. ESPN), but this time they will be playing in Dallas. There is a chance that Irving and Doncic could return for the Mavericks.