The Memphis Grizzlies didn’t just beat the Atlanta Hawks in Las Vegas - they blew the doors off the game before it had a chance to settle in.
By the time the Hawks finally got on the board, Memphis had already built a 21-point cushion, and the first quarter was so lopsided that the Grizzlies held Atlanta scoreless for the opening six minutes. The pressure never let up.
Memphis crowded the ball, challenged shots, and made life miserable from the start, then went even further by setting a Summer League record for fewest points allowed in a quarter with two as the game moved into the second. From there, the Hawks were basically waiting for the clock to expire in a 96-64 loss.
A win like that comes from more than just running up the score. Memphis kept its offense from getting stale, kept pressure on the 3-point line, and leaned on Cameron Boozer, Cedric Coward, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Javon Small to make sure Atlanta never had a path back in.
Boozer was the tone-setter. He attacked the rim right away, and he did it without forcing the issue.
He kept finding the weak spots, showed off his passing touch, and delivered his best feed on a baseline lob to Coward. One sequence summed up his impact: he created a post mismatch, drew help, kicked it out to the weak side, and still finished the possession with a putback.
He also stayed disciplined defensively and even gave Memphis a useful look by guarding the inbounder. Boozer finished with 24 points on 77 percent shooting, seven rebounds and three assists against four turnovers, earning an A for what was easily his best Summer League outing.
Coward was right there with him. After the game, he called Boozer special and said both of them would do "good things."
Coward’s own night was built on efficiency and movement. He wasn’t hunting the spotlight so much as finding the right openings, scoring on cuts and through screens and handoffs while staying in the flow.
He finished with 18 points on 58.3 percent shooting and earned an A. He also led Memphis with 13 first-half points, and his best highlight came on a slick acrobatic finish through traffic in the first quarter.
His jumper was falling, too, and he looked every bit like one of the young players on the rise in the NBA.
He kept the pressure on even after Memphis had stretched the lead to 25, picking up full-court and refusing to coast. Coward ended with 23 points on 58.3 percent shooting, and while the numbers were strong, the bigger takeaway was how much better he looked than almost everyone on the floor.
Only Boozer matched him. That was enough for another A.
Small gave Memphis exactly what it needed behind them: calm, control and steady playmaking. In the first half, he worked as a connector and fit neatly into the offense without trying to do too much.
His defense was sharp, and he chipped in seven points before the game got away. Once garbage time arrived early, he got a little loose with the ball and backed off as a scorer, but he still closed with nine points on 50 percent shooting, five rebounds and seven assists against five turnovers.
That earned him a B.
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