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Grizzlies Rookie Karim López Scores First NBA Points After FedExForum Chants
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- Grizzlies Rookie Karim López Scores First NBA Points After FedExForum Chants
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Fans at FedExForum started chanting for Karim López with about nine minutes left Saturday night, Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal reported . The Memphis Grizzlies were on their way to a 136-105 win over the Sacramento Kings .
Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo sent the rookie forward in with 4:15 remaining and Memphis ahead 119-97. López was one of four reserves who checked in together.
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He blocked a Nique Clifford fadeaway with 37.9 seconds left. On the other end, López ran the floor and finished a fast-break layup with 30.5 seconds remaining for the first points of his NBA career.
López finished with 2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block in the final 4:15. Carson Cooper, another rookie, was on the floor with him.
"It was a super nice moment," López said, according to Cole. "I'm not going to lie, Cooper was wide open, but I'm not swinging that. I'm going to be honest. You got to get those first points. From now on, I'll swing that [pass]. But yeah, super special and happy."
Saturday was not the first time López heard fans ask for him, he told Cole. He made his NBA debut two nights earlier at Portland and finished with 1 rebound.
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"It's cool to see people wanting me in the game," López explained. "I was trying to go in also."
Cooper went undrafted out of Michigan State and signed with Memphis afterward. He got in with 3:13 to go. Fifteen seconds later he was at the line, where he missed the first free throw and made the second for his first NBA point. He also had 2 rebounds and an assist.
Both rookies received game balls in the locker room. Iisalo said the reaction from the veterans on the bench made it a cool moment, as detailed in three takeaways from the win .
From the 4:15 mark on, Memphis outscored Sacramento 17-8. Taylor Hendricks made both of his 3-point attempts in that stretch, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Jahmai Mashack each scored a basket.
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Memphis Traded Down Twice to Draft López
No player born in Mexico had gone in the first round until Detroit called López's name 21st on June 23. He cried under the Pistons cap on stage. His rights went to Memphis in a trade that night.
He is 19 and from Hermosillo. López played two seasons in Australia's National Basketball League with the New Zealand Breakers through its Next Stars program.
Memphis started that night at 16th. Oklahoma City took the pick and handed the Grizzlies the 17th selection plus two future second-rounders, and Detroit then gave up the 21st pick and three more seconds to get 17th, where it took Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie.
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That made five second-round picks for the night.
Zach Kleiman, the Grizzlies' general manager, cited López's ball-handling and his ability to create off the dribble after the draft.
Cameron Boozer had gone third overall to Memphis hours earlier. The three Detroit seconds stayed in Memphis for about 24 hours before going back to the Pistons on June 24 in the Isaiah Stewart trade.
Boozer scored a career-high 27 points against Sacramento. Stewart came off the bench for a season-high 24.
Grizzlies Host Pelicans Monday
Memphis is 6-0, matching the 2014-15 team for the best start in franchise history. The Grizzlies host the New Orleans Pelicans at 7 p.m. CT on Monday.
