MEMPHIS — The Memphis Grizzlies defeated Sacramento 136–105 on Saturday, receiving an entirely unreasonable 81 points from their bench.
That figure is not a projected season total, a two-game average or a number invented by someone who misunderstood the box score.
It is what the reserves scored in one basketball game.
GG Jackson contributed 21 points and made all five of his three-point attempts, apparently deciding that missing would only delay the evening.
Memphis also received 27 points from rookie Cameron Boozer and 24 from Isaiah Stewart, meaning the Grizzlies had more than enough production before anyone began calculating how much damage their reserve unit had done.
The Kings, meanwhile, got 38 points from rookie Darus Acuff Jr. and still lost by 31, a development that must have made the opposing bench feel particularly unnecessary.
In basketball, starters traditionally receive the introductions, the cameras and the implied responsibility of carrying the team.
The reserves are expected to maintain the lead, provide energy and occasionally hit a corner three before returning to their seats.
Memphis seems to have discarded that arrangement.
Eighty-one bench points is the sort of output that invites an uncomfortable question: if the second unit can score that much, what exactly is everyone else saving themselves for?
The Grizzlies still needed their starters, of course.
Someone had to make sure the bench remained adequately rested before taking over the building.
