Ty Jerome Scores 45 on 17-of-25 to Break Ja Morant's Grizzlies Opener Record
Ty Jerome scored 45 on 17-of-25 as Memphis beat Utah 123-103, one more than Ja Morant's 44 in the 2020 opener.
Photo: NBA.com. Ty Jerome, Memphis Grizzlies guard.
Ty Jerome scored 45 points on 17-of-25 shooting Wednesday night as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Utah Jazz 123-103 at FedExForum. That is a career high by 12 points and one more than the 44 Ja Morant scored in the 2020 opener, the old Memphis record, on the first night Jerome ran the team Morant used to run.
Fourteen of seventeen on his own
Memphis traded Morant to Portland over the summer in the deal that brought back Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, and the point guard job went to Jerome. Wednesday he carried most of the offense by himself. By The Dyme's count from the play-by-play, 14 of his 17 field goals were unassisted. The three that were assisted all came from the same rookie, Cameron Boozer: a layup early in the second quarter, a 24-foot pull-up to open the third, and a 25-footer 12 seconds into the fourth.
The shot that did the most work was the floater. Jerome took eight of them and made six. Jaxson Hayes blocked six shots on the night, a career high, and Ace Bailey added three. By The Dyme's count, twelve of his 45 came on floaters from 5 to 13 feet.
The 3s came from everywhere else. He made 5 of 10, including a 33-footer with 7:27 left that got him to 41. Jerome had 10 points in the first 4:37, then got 3 more at the line after Svi Mykhailiuk fouled him on a 3 with 0.6 seconds left. Memphis still trailed 31-29 after one.
The quarter he scored six
Jerome scored only six, and Memphis won the quarter 35-20. He assisted a Cedric Coward 3 and a Zach Edey jumper in his first stint, and Grant, who had nothing in the first quarter, scored 13 in the second. Memphis led 64-51 at halftime.
Then the third quarter opened with an 18-4 Memphis run to 82-55, and Jerome's part was a Boozer-assisted 3 and a 9-footer. The Grizzlies led by 27 three separate times in the quarter. The fourth was where the record came from: Jerome scored 12 points in the first 4:33 of it, with Memphis already up 98-79, and finished the quarter with 16.
"I think sometimes basketball is a game of runs," Jerome said afterward. "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."
Boozer went 2-for-15 and was plus-32
Boozer, the No. 3 pick out of Duke, missed 13 of his 15 shots and all six of his 3s. He also played 33 minutes, more than anyone else Memphis used, with 11 rebounds, five assists and one turnover, and the Grizzlies were plus-32 with him on the floor. Three of those five assists went to Jerome, and two of them were 3s.
Memphis beat Utah 55-38 on the boards with 15 offensive rebounds, scored 58 in the paint and got 23 fast-break points.
His minutes before Wednesday
Jerome played 32 minutes Wednesday. In 2025-26, his first season in Memphis, he played 15 games, averaged 22.6 minutes and never went past 25 in any of them, per his ESPN game log. He averaged 19.7 points in that stretch and topped out at 28. His previous career high, 33, came off the bench in Cleveland on Jan. 24, 2025, when he made all eight of his 3s against Philadelphia.
Memphis plays at Golden State on Friday.
Utah gets its own note. Jaren Jackson Jr. came back to FedExForum for the first time since the February trade and scored 15 before fouling out in the fourth. Keyonte George led the Jazz with 22, and No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson had nine.
Photo: NBA.com / Getty Images. Ty Jerome after the Grizzlies' 123-103 opening-night win over the Utah Jazz at FedExForum.
Sources
Related Posts
Matt Painter Agrees to Purdue Extension Through 2030-31, 12 Wins From Passing Gene Keady
Purdue's amended deal with Painter runs through 2030-31, pending full Board of Trustees approval. He is 501-224, 12 wins from passing Keady, with a roster that returns 21% of its starts.
Valkyries Are 1 Win From the WNBA Title After Turning 17 Dream Turnovers Into 21 Points
Golden State forced 17 turnovers and held Atlanta to 22 first-half points to take a 3-2 lead. Game 6 is Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET in Atlanta.
6 to 8 Weeks Without Jaren Jackson Jr.: What the Torn MCL Costs the 1-3 Jazz
A torn MCL, no surgery, 19 to 24 games out by our count, and a frontcourt Utah already thinned out.