El base espaol Ricky Rubio debut on Wednesday night with his new team, Los Cleveland Cavaliers, with a double-double when scoring 12 points and 10 assists in a game in which the base of the Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant, Who did 37 points.
TECHNICAL DATA
- Memphis Grizzlies, 132– Jackson (13), Adams (8), Morant (37), Bane (22) and Melton (20); Clarke (6), Anderson (10), Jones (9), Konchar (4) and Williams (3).
- Cleveland Cavaliers, 121– Markkanen (10), Allen (25), Mobley (17), Sexton (17) and Garland (13); Love (4), Osman (15), Okoro (8) and Rubio (12)
Rubio, who ended up playing 25 minutes after starting the game from the bench, will be the game of the young Cleveland team, providing more depth and movement of the ball in the attack and a more coordinated defense.
But Morant, who in addition to being the top scorer of the match with 37 points provided six assists and two blocks, it was unstoppable. The point guard made a triple of four attempts and the two free throws he made.
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies stood out Desmond Bane, with 22 points, and De’Anthony Melton, with 20. The pvot Steven Adams was made with 14 rebounds.
RESULTS OF THE DAY
- Hornets 123-122 Pacers
- Pistons 88-94 Bulls
- Knicks 138-134 Celtics
- Raptors 83-98 Wizards
- Grizzlies 132-121 Cavaliers
- Timberwolves 124-106 Rockets
- Pelicans 97-117 76ers
- Spurs 123-97 Magic
- Jazz 107-86 Thunder
- Suns 98-110 Nuggets
- Trail Blazers 121-124 Kings
Mobley, a diamond in the rough
In the Cavaliers, the top scorer was the pvot Jarret Allen, with 25 points (11 of 11 in field goals), who also had four rebounds, one assist, three steals and three blocks. The wing-pvot Evan Mobley, number three in this year’s draft, made good impressions on his NBA debut.
Mobley, 20 years old and 2.13 meters tall, scored 17 points and had nine rebounds, six assists, a steal and a plug. The escort Collin Sexton I also finished the game with 17 points.
The game, played at the FedExForum in Memphis before 15,975 spectators, it started with equality. While in the Grizzlies, Morant concentrated the scoring tasks, in the Cleveland team the work is distributed in a more balanced way.
When the first quarter ended, the scoreboard indicated a tie at 32-32. Morant had 12 of his team’s points and Bane another nine. In the Cavaliers, Cedi Osman was the leading scorer with nine points the result of the three triples he had tried in the first 12 minutes. Allen and Sexton had another six points each and Rubio, five.
To the rhythm of Morant
Rubio, who entered the court with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter after Garland suffered a trip that caused ankle discomfort, made his quality evident from the first minutes. In three minutes El Masnou’s point guard scored a shot from mid-range, unlocked the Grizzlies defense based on assists and made a triple.
On defense, Rubio stole balls and threw his team on counterattack, giving the Cavs a speed they didn’t have with Garland on the court.
But in the second quarter, the Grizzlies imposed their greatest experience about the youth of the Cavaliers. At the restart, the Memphis scored five consecutive triples (two from Jaren Jackson and three from Melton) that Cleveland was unable to answer.
Those five triples in just over three minutes they weighed heavily on the Cavs, who finished the second quarter 12 points behind the Grizzlies, 73-61.
After the break, the Cavaliers reacted. With better defense, Rubio’s team only conceded 21 points in the third quarter while still being able to score 29 points.
With a 94-90 on the scoreboard, the final 12 minutes began. But a pair of triples and several robberies, again distanced the Grizzlies to 14 points.
Deeper Memphis
However, the Cavs, who had lost 16 points in the second quarter, began to close the gap. With 2.33 remaining, two triples in a row brought Cleveland closer to one point, 117-116.
It was in vain. Morant reappeared, first with a mid-range shot, then with an assist to Melton to cap off a 7-0 run with a triple. With an eight-point lead with 1 minute left in the game, the Grizzlies aborted the Cavs’ rebellion attempt.