Ty Jerome scored 45 points Wednesday night, one more than any Memphis player had ever scored in a season opener.
The Memphis Grizzlies won 123-103 over the Utah Jazz at FedExForum. Jerome took 25 shots and made 17 of them.
Ja Morant held the previous record, 44 points in 2020. He is in Portland now, traded over the summer in the deal that brought Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to Memphis, and that left the point guard job to Jerome.
The Grizzlies got 23 points on the break, and Utah got 9. Jerome put finding the open man on his list afterward.
“We didn’t want to make it too complicated with scouting reports and all that,” Jerome said in a walk-off interview after the game. “We wanted to make it about us, put our identity on the game, and we did that. We played fast, we played together, we played hard, we found the open man, and everyone came to play tonight.”
Jerome Sets a New Career High
His old career high was 33. That one came in Philadelphia, in a Cleveland jersey, on Jan. 24, 2025.
Five of his 10 3-point tries went down Wednesday. He was 6-of-7 on free throws and had 7 rebounds and 6 assists, too.
Jerome scored 13 of his points in the first quarter, and Memphis still trailed 31-29 when it ended. The Jazz did not win another quarter.
“Sometimes, yeah, but I’ve got confidence in everybody,” Jerome explained. “I think sometimes basketball is a game of runs. You’re going to miss some. You’re going to make some. And we were getting great looks to start the game. I told everyone, keep taking our looks. And we did that, and we started to make them.”
Jerami Grant did not score in the first quarter. He had 13 in the second, and Memphis took a 64-51 lead to halftime. Grant added 2 more after the break.
Grizzlies Blow the Game Open
Coming out of the locker room, Memphis scored 18 of the first 22 points. That made it 82-55.
GG Jackson II scored 12 and grabbed 8 rebounds in under 19 minutes. He credits Memphis’ size and length for the different looks it can give teams.
“We just kept up our pace, attacked the glass, and was huge on the defensive end and the start of fast break points for us,” Jackson said of the start of the second half.
Three different times in the third quarter, Memphis led by 27. It was 98-79 going into the fourth, and Utah never got within 15 in the final period.
The 3 that got Jerome to 41 was his fifth, launched from the logo at midcourt. He came out with under a minute to go.
“It’s fun, right?” Jerome said. “You work so hard, try to get in those zones, and when it comes, it’s a good night.”
Cameron Boozer Makes His NBA Debut
Cameron Boozer played 33 minutes in his first NBA game, more than anybody else Memphis used.
He made 2 of his 15 shots and none of his 6 3s. He still had 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and only 1 turnover, and Memphis outscored Utah by 32 with him on the floor.
Utah used the pick right before Boozer’s, No. 2 in June, on Darryn Peterson. He had 9 points.
Memphis outrebounded Utah by 17, 55-38.
Fifteen of those were offensive rebounds. Utah had 5. That was worth 17 second-chance points to the Grizzlies and 6 to the Jazz, and Zach Edey grabbed 9 rebounds of his own in 21 minutes.
Memphis also scored 58 points in the paint, 12 more than Utah.
Jaylen Wells scored 12 and had 4 of the Grizzlies’ 8 steals. Utah turned it over 18 times, and Memphis got 17 points out of those.
Jaren Jackson Jr. Returns to FedExForum
Keyonte George scored 22 for the Jazz. Lauri Markkanen made just 4 of his 13 shots but got to 18 points by going 9-of-10 at the line, and he grabbed 9 rebounds.
Jaren Jackson Jr. was back at FedExForum for the first time since the Feb. 3 trade that sent him to Utah, after eight seasons in Memphis.
He had 15 points and 5 turnovers and fouled out in the fourth quarter. Jaxson Hayes blocked a career-high 6 shots for Utah.
The Jazz were without Jusuf Nurkić, who has a plantar plate tear in his right foot. Isaiah Stewart, listed as doubtful going in with a left ankle sprain, did not play for Memphis. Two-way players Carson Cooper and Javon Small were inactive, too.
Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo did not use Taylor Hendricks, Karim López, Jahmai Mashack, Kris Murray, or Olivier-Maxence Prosper. The crowd at FedExForum was 17,276.
Grizzlies Take Their Pace on the Road
Now the Grizzlies head west for four games in seven days. Jerome wants them still playing fast when they get there.
“Same thing, man,” Jerome said. “Play with our identity, play fast, keep it about us, just keep going.”
Friday’s game is at Chase Center against the Golden State Warriors, 9 p.m. CT. Then it’s Sacramento on Sunday and, a night later, the Jazz again in Salt Lake City.
The Grizzlies finish the trip in Portland on Thursday, Oct. 29.