Juan Carlos Blanco, RotoWire
Wayne Selden and Wade Baldwin IV combined for 54 points, including 11 of the team’s final 13, to lead the No. 4-seeded Memphis Grizzlies to a 102-98 victory over the No. 13-seeded Phoenix Suns in Las Vegas Summer League second-round playoff action on Thursday evening at Cox Pavilion.
The Grizzlies (4-0) erased a slim first-quarter deficit by exploding for 37 points in the second period. While the Suns (2-3) did outscore Memphis by a 52-49 margin in the second half, the Grizzlies managed to score 13 points over the final 3:28 to secure the victory. As implied by the final score, both teams had the hot hand from the field, with the Suns slightly winning that battle by a 53.5 percent-47.4 percent margin. Two keys to victory were Memphis’ near-perfect performance from the free-throw line (95.7 percent) and its sizable 39-29 rebounding advantage. Those performances helped overcome five double-digit scoring efforts by the Suns, as well as a total of 17 turnovers.
It was Selden, a second-year shooting guard who started to come on late last season for the Grizzlies, who led the way with a game-high 33 points (10-17 FG, 3-8 3PT, 10-11 FT) along with four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Baldwin followed with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting, a total he complemented with seven rebounds, two assists and a steal. Deyonta Davis, the Celtics’ first pick in the second round a year ago who was eventually traded to Memphis, followed with a bench-leading 16 points over 19 minutes. He added four boards and an assist. Rade Zagorac, another 2016 second-round selection, totaled eight points and six boards. Jarell Martin, Memphis’ 2015 first-round pick, matched Zagorac’s scoring total and added four rebounds and an assist.
Mike James spearheaded the Suns with 32 points (11-16 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 7-7 FT), five assists, five rebounds and three steals. Last year’s first-round pick, Dragan Bender, tallied 20 points, seven boards and five assists. Shaquille Harrison added 16 points, two rebounds, an assist, two steals and a block. Josh Jackson, this year’s fourth overall pick, supplied 13 points, eight rebounds, an assist and two steals. Second-round pick Davon Reed matched Jackson’s point total and complemented it with a rebound, n assist, a steal and a block.
The Grizzlies now move on to a Friday quarterfinal matchup against the No. 12-seeded Miami Heat.
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