Rookie Cedric Coward erupted for 27 points behind a torrid 3-point shooting effort as the Memphis Grizzlies rolled past the visiting Indiana Pacers 128-103 on Saturday.
In just his third NBA game, Coward set a high personal bar knocking down all six of his 3-point attempts off the bench. He scored 22 points in the second half, 15 of which came over a third-quarter stretch spanning nearly five minutes.
Coward contributed to a 25-7 run that blew the game open, pushing a three-point Grizzlies lead to 21. Memphis continued the deluge in the fourth quarter as it expanded the gap to 30.
The romp completely flipped the script for a Grizzlies team playing its second game in as many nights. Memphis was blown out 146-114 on the first leg of the back-to-back on Friday against Miami.
After committing 20 turnovers against the Heat, Memphis gave up only four on Saturday. The Grizzlies’ cleaner ball possession also resulted in 31 of their 44 made field goals coming off assists, led by Ja Morant with eight.
Morant was also one of five Memphis scorers in double-figures with 19 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 17 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 10 points to go with five assists.
Second-round draft pick Javon Small came off the bench and shot 3-of-4 from 3-point range on the way to 16 points. The two first-year Grizzlies were responsible for nine of Memphis’ 15 made 3-pointers on 39 attempts.
Indiana approached the Grizzlies’ pace from long distance, going 14-of-40, but managed just 22-of-49 shooting from inside the arc. The reigning Eastern Conference champion got little consistent offense outside of Bennedict Mathurin, who finished with 26 points. Aaron Nesmith added 15 while Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin each scored 13.
Mathurin exited with a sore right foot, a troublesome development for an Indiana team faced with the prospect of playing the entire season already without star guard Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers face a quick turnaround with a second road game this weekend, taking on Minnesota on Sunday. Memphis visits Golden State on Monday.
