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Dillon Brooks helped the Memphis Grizzles defeat Jordan Bell and the Golden State Warriors, 111-101, on Saturday night from the FedExForum in Memphis. The Pac-12 Player of the Year finished second on the team in minutes (32) played.
It was the first time two members of the 2016-17 Oregon basketball team met in an official regular season NBA game.
Memphis (2-0) remained unbeaten after their dominant win against the world champs. Golden State (1-2) struggled from the opening tip, trailing by 17 points entering the fourth quarter.
Marc Gasol led the way with a team-high 36 minutes played. He secured a team-leading 34 points and 14 rebounds. Mike Conley tied Brooks with 32 minutes played, as he tallied 10 points and seven dimes.
Once a always a pic.twitter.com/zqmHexKK0O
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) October 21, 2017
Entering the final 12 minutes, Brooks had already played 20 minutes. Clearly, Memphis head coach David Fizdale has confidence in his rookie, as he didn’t come off the floor in the final period.
Brooks concluded his evening with nine points, two boards, two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. He was 4-of-7 from the field and 1-of-2 from downtown. Aggressiveness remains a big part of his game naturally, as Brooks finished with five fouls.
As for the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Bell played just four minutes for the Warriors. He finished with two rebounds and a blocked shot, of course. The Long Beach product registered a plus-minus of +4 in limited duty.
It was a little surprising to not see Bell on the floor more often in this game. With Draymond Green struggling through knee soreness, head coach Steve Kerr forced him into 36 minutes of action. He had seven boards, six assists and three points (1-of-6).
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Steph Curry led the Warriors with a game-high 37 points. He was 9-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from deep. Kevin Durant added 29 points and 13 rebounds.
After scoring 19 points in his professional debut, it’s pretty clear that Brooks is getting a healthy run with his new team. Memphis trusts the second round pick (45th overall) of the Houston Rockets.
We knew the type of player the Grizzlies were getting, even if their fanbase didn’t. Brooks’ role should only continue to evolve over time, but it’s a positive sign to see him so heavily involved this early in his career.
The next 19 days at ATQ will be jam-packed with Oregon basketball prep, including player profiles, predictions, previews, interviews, breakdowns and a few history lessons. Every day, we will have something new as we count you down to opening night.
Ready or not? We’re less than a month away from the 2017-18 season!
Stay tuned, if you want to; Twitter @TheQuackFiend Gram @eugene_levys_eyebrows