Scotty Pippen Jr. scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 142-131 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Pippen also recorded 10 assists, and Jaylen Wells added a career-high 26 points. The Grizzlies won their second straight game. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 23 points, while Jay Huff contributed 14 points.
Desmond Bane had 13 points, Brandon Clarke scored 12, and Luke Kennard and Santi Aldama each added 10 points off the bench. Aldama also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 29 points, followed by Nikola Vucevic with 26. Matas Buzelis scored 14, and Josh Giddey added 12 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Coby White contributed 11 points, and Talen Horton-Tucker had 10 points for the Bulls, who have lost four of their last six games.
Memphis took a 64-60 lead into halftime. Pippen’s three-point play gave the Grizzlies a 70-63 advantage with 10:15 left in the third quarter. White’s stepback 3-pointer brought Chicago within six points, but Memphis responded with layups from Clarke and Pippen, extending their lead to 87-77.
After LaVine’s layup cut Memphis’ lead to five, Huff and Kennard made back-to-back 3-pointers, pushing the Grizzlies’ advantage to 97-84 at the 4:50 mark. White hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left, trimming the Bulls’ deficit to 109-98 heading into the final quarter.
Memphis extended their lead with a 22-11 run to start the fourth quarter, capped by consecutive triples from Wells, giving them a 131-109 lead with 6:13 left. In the first quarter, Memphis jumped to an 11-4 lead after Wells’ dunk at the 9:15 mark. Giddey’s floater helped the Bulls go on an 8-2 run, cutting the deficit to 13-12.
Memphis outscored Chicago 30-22 in the first quarter and went on a 6-0 run in the second to take a 62-47 lead with 3:31 left. Chicago answered with a 13-1 run, including Giddey’s 3-pointer, bringing the Bulls within 63-60 at halftime. Bane made one of two free throws with seven seconds left to give the Grizzlies a four-point lead at the break. Jackson led Memphis with 14 points in the first half, while Vucevic had 19 for Chicago.
