Memphis Stayed Perfect. Utah's Fourth-Quarter Fight Came Too Late.

Memphis was unbeaten at 4–0 after edging Utah 110–105, but calling it an easy win would erase most of what actually happened. The Grizzlies built a sixteen-point lead and watched the Jazz reduce it to one in the fourth quarter. Cedric Coward delivered 16 points and eleven rebounds, while Ty Jerome recovered from a difficult shooting night to make the late plays Memphis needed. That's the real tension here: the better team for most of the night still had to prove it could protect the last few possessions.

The lead was sixteen. Then it nearly disappeared.

Memphis led 30–21 after one quarter and 58–52 at halftime. A 31–24 third pushed its advantage to thirteen entering the fourth. Three consecutive threes by Quinten Post, Cam Spencer and Coward had helped create a sixteen-point cushion late in that period. If you're watching only until that moment, the contest looks settled. Utah did not agree. The Jazz won the fourth quarter 29–21, and their late 15–3 run exposed how quickly the Grizzlies could drift from controlled possessions into trying to protect a margin.

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Jerome's shot failed; his decisions didn't

Jerome entered the night as the league's leading scorer after dropping 45 on these same Jazz in the season opener. He made only four of fifteen shots Monday and finished with 15 points, but he also dished eight assists. With Utah pushing, he produced two consecutive baskets to answer its comeback, then made critical free throws with 11.6 seconds remaining. A player who can make the important decision when his jumper doesn't cooperate is more valuable than somebody who only looks comfortable during a hot streak.

Coward's eleven rebounds mattered alongside his 16 points, especially because Memphis wasn't dominant on the interior. Utah scored 46 points in the paint to Memphis's 34. Jaylen Wells provided 14 points and the two late free throws that helped keep the Jazz at a distance. Cameron Boozer and Jerami Grant scored 13 each. Memphis's spread of contributions protected it from Jerome's inefficient shooting. It wasn't a performance that made every weakness disappear; it was a performance in which enough players filled different jobs.

The Jazz kept coming despite two big injuries

Utah's comeback deserves context rather than a generic 'they fought hard' sentence. Lauri Markkanen departed with a wrist injury in the first quarter, and Jaren Jackson Jr. exited with a knee injury in the second. Neither returned. Keyonte George still scored 26, Ace Bailey had 17 and ten rebounds, and Mo Bamba contributed 14 in his season debut. George's three-point play cut it to 102–101 with 3:37 left. Bamba's dunk drew Utah within a point again with just over a minute remaining. These were genuine chances to steal the game.

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The Jazz couldn't finish those chances. Wells and Jerome made four late free throws, and Memphis escaped. That's the difference between a comeback and a victory: Utah did the hard part of eliminating the lead, but it couldn't generate the final stop and clean trip it needed. Memphis should not dismiss the last quarter just because the record remains perfect. Allowing an opponent missing key starters to nearly overturn sixteen points should make the film session uncomfortable.

We got 1 through 15, 18 really, that can come in and play at any given time.Cedric Coward, Grizzlies postgame

6IX TAKE — a perfect record shouldn't hide a sloppy finish

6IX TAKE — I like the Grizzlies' 4–0 start, but I don't want anybody using it as a reason to stop asking questions. Jerome going four-for-fifteen and still helping decide the game is an encouraging sign of maturity. He got teammates involved, made baskets when Utah closed in and converted the late free throws. Coward's double-double and Wells's work mattered because Memphis was not getting a forty-point rescue from its lead scorer. Utah deserves more than sympathy for injuries, too. Losing Markkanen and Jackson changed the rotation, yet George, Bailey and Bamba gave the Jazz multiple real chances to win. What bothers me for Memphis is that a sixteen-point lead became a one-possession game against a wounded opponent. What bothers me for Utah is that its best stretch arrived after so much damage had been done. Both sides can learn from the finish without pretending the first thirty-six minutes didn't happen.

Why the late possessions matter

The result leaves Memphis undefeated, but the possession-by-possession lesson is narrower: multiple contributors can save you when your lead scorer goes cold. Utah's fourth-quarter urgency was real, though it now has more serious personnel questions to address. The Grizzlies have something worth protecting, and that means learning from the near-miss instead of just celebrating that it wasn't a loss.