The Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat are both in limbo, as they try to separate themselves from the crowd and figure out how to make genuine noise in their respective conferences. They both pride themselves on exemplifying grit, but on this night, the two squads were miles apart. Miami embarrassed Memphis on the road, earning a stunning 146-114 victory inside FedExForum. The game was over by halftime.
Grizzlies fans were appalled to see their beloved franchise get completely outclassed in its own building against a Heat team missing their best scorer in Tyler Herro. Memphis trailed 86-47 at the break. The effort was both horrifying and unfathomable. People took to social media to weigh in on this massacre.
“It’s so hard to be a Grizzlies fan,” @dogleguitar bemoaned on X. “Yall owe everyone in the forum a refund,” @austin_welch18 commented. They don’t have any defense {laughing emoji},” @AUSTINHONEY88 remarked. “The time where the Grizzlies had a huge defense with {Jaren Jackson Jr.} as a DPOY seems like a long time ago,” @Footballjogfv opined.
Memphis jumped to a 4-0 lead to begin the contest but found itself in a 19-point hole after the first quarter. Ja Morant, who was initially questionable with ankle soreness, scored only 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Jackson managed only three rebounds, as Miami decisively won the battle on the glass, 57-41. Despite matching the Grizzlies' 20 turnovers, the Heat were utterly dominant on Friday.
Bam Adebayo recorded a game-high 24 points, Kel'el Ware posted 19 points and nine boards and Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. combined for 37 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists off the bench. Adebayo and Simone Fontecchio each drained four 3-pointers, as the squad shot a sweltering 47.5 percent from distance. The Heat bounced back nicely from a 125-121 loss to the Orlando Magic in their season opener and made a thunderous statement in Bluff City.
The Grizzlies made one that was just as loud, but for all the wrong reasons.
