When a window of opportunity opened for the Memphis Grizzlies, they jumped on it. 

The Grizzlies have struggled with Dallas Mavericks’ star Luka Doncic throughout his tenure with the division rival. Doncic entered Friday 9-3 all-time in his career against Memphis. He scored 35 in a blowout win the last time these two teams played back in October. 

But he wasn’t at the game on Friday night. 

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While Memphis was defeating the Mavs 108-94 at American Airlines Center, Doncic was at home celebrating the birth of his daughter with his fiancé. 

It was undeniably a fortunate break for Memphis, but the injury-depleted Grizzlies are likely the last team to feel sympathy for an opponent missing its star. 

Doncic or not, Memphis earned its victory on Friday night.

Need a big star to step up? 

Desmond Bane scored 30 points with five rebounds and four assists. He loves returning to Dallas, where he’s less than an hour away from where he played in college at TCU. 

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Need bench production?

Jaylen Nowell, who was signed a week ago, gave them 19 points. Overall, Memphis’ secondary unit scored 58 points. 

Need a way to stop Kyrie Irving?

Vince Williams Jr. had that covered. He scored 15 points with nine rebounds, but stood out as a menace on the defensive end all night, blocking two shots. 

“I was just focused on stopping Kyrie,” Williams said on the Bally Sports broadcast afterward. “We did a great job and my teammates helped me. We wanted him to go to the basket and shoot tough shots. We did that tonight.”

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What happens when all of the pieces come together?

The 5-13 Grizzlies have a win streak (2). It’s their first of the season. 

Accountability 

There was a theme over the last few days of Grizzlies practice. 

Memphis let the standard slip over Thanksgiving week. They were wiped off the floor in a pair of games without a competitive fight. 

So the players took it upon themselves to hold each other “accountable.” The word popped up several times.

On Friday, it was on display. 

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After a dominant performance on the defensive end to that point, the Grizzlies allowed Irving to drive and kick for an open 3-pointer on the final possession of the first half. 

Bane stood there without moving defensively. Aldama allowed Irving to go right by him, then tried to recover. What followed was a rare exchange Grizzlies fans hadn’t seen for a while.

Aldama was furious with Bane, needing to be restrained by big man Bismack Biyombo as he yelled in the direction of the Memphis star. Bane snapped back as the team walked off the court for halftime. 

Bally Sports captures a heated exchange between Bane and Aldama at the end of the half. pic.twitter.com/BHYkWvi5CV

— Drew Hill (@DrewHill_DM) December 2, 2023

Was it a moment the Grizzlies would have rather not happened on Bally Sports for everyone to see? 

Probably so. 

But it may also be a sign that the message about accountability is taking hold. There were two teammates with public passion in a game they had completely controlled to the point. 

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In fact, that last defensive possession was one of only a few mistakes the Grizzlies made in the first half. 

Irving started 1-for-8 shooting and Memphis completely swamped the home team defensively. Dallas scored only 44 points in the first half and shot 35% from the floor and 30% from the 3-point line.

Nowell rides the role player carousel

All season, the Grizzlies have tried to find a successful rotation despite a loaded injury report. 

They were down so many players last week that the league granted Memphis two 10-day hardship contracts to get through the next few games. That has turned out to be a major blessing for coach Taylor Jenkins and company, mostly because of Nowell. 

Nowell, who was inked on Nov. 24, has already been elevated to sixth-man status by Jenkins. He was the first off the bench against Dallas, scoring 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting. That scoring punch was significant in the second half when he helped Memphis keep its distance after the Mavericks cut the lead down to single digits. 

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Nowell is not an elite 3-point shooter, but his quickness and vision make him an instant boost offensively the moment he steps on the court. He’s done this before. Nowell averaged more than 10 points per game for Minnesota last season.

He will remain eligible to play for Memphis on Saturday at Phoenix, but then his contract will expire. The Grizzlies could apply for a second hardship contract to help keep Nowell around a little longer. That seems likely. 

But should he stay longer than that?

If Nowell continues to play well off the bench for Memphis, the Grizzlies could consider signing him to a standard contract.

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To do so, they would need to open a roster spot. That would mean releasing a young player and eating some dead cap space. It might be worth it. 

Memphis also returned big man Xavier Tillman Sr. on Friday after missing six games with a knee injury. Tillman played 22 minutes and finished with four points and two rebounds. 

Star of the game

Bane, who scored 30 points with five assists and four rebounds, was the best player on the court.

But this honor deserves to go to the entire bench, which poured in 58 points and grabbed 30 rebounds. Williams and Nowell were not the only players with impressive final stat lines. 

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Aldama stepped up and played 33 minutes, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Jaren Jackson Jr. battled foul trouble. 

Up next

The Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Phoenix Suns on the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday at 8 p.m. CST (Bally Sports, 98.9 FM).