The Grizzlies’ young backcourt pairing just outdueled the Nets’ superstar duo.

Grizzlies’ Backcourt and other takeaways (October 25)

• The Memphis Grizzlies’ 134-124 win over the Brooklyn Nets was an offensive display sprinkled with magic. The shot-creating in this game was phenomenal, as the stars from both teams took turns in exhibiting their scoring prowess. After struggling through the first three games, Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane redeemed himself with a 38-point night, including 18 points in the pivotal third quarter. His backcourt partner Ja Morant also put up 38 of his own, while stuffing his stat sheet with eight rebounds and seven assists. Even though they combined for a whopping 76 points and 14 assists, Morant and Bane only committed three turnovers in the win.

• It’s encouraging how locked and loaded Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are, especially with all the off-season trade talks that surrounded them. KD and Kyrie both logged over 38 minutes and produced 37 markers apiece. Ben Simmons contributed eight assists, but committed five turnovers and fouled out after 28 minutes of play. It’s really difficult for their defense to contain Morant and Bane’s shot-making tonight, but the Nets lost track of the Grizzlies’ shooters a lot of times. The Grizzlies hit 47.1% of their 34 three-point attempts, with Bane accounting for eight triples.

• Ayo Dosunmu is the real deal. The second-year guard was inserted into the Chicago Bulls’ starting lineup following the absence of the injured Lonzo Ball. The Bulls had a slow start in tonight’s game against the Boston Celtics, trailing by 19 points at one point in the opening period. But Dosunmu led Chicago’s fightback, finishing with 22 points in the team’s 120-102 win over Boston. Dosunmu has been steady in his newfound role as a starter, and he has real potential to become a lead playmaker in the years to come.

• After hacking out a 135-110 victory over Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, the Portland Trail Blazers are off to a surprising 4-0 start this season. Damian Lillard came through with 31 points and eight assists, and Jerami Grant had 21. The spotlight shone on Anfernee Simons tonight, who drilled seven treys on his way to a 29-point outing. The 23-year-old Simons is facing a lot of pressure in his new role as second fiddle to Lillard, but he’s quickly showing that he has what it takes to be Portland’s second star. If you don’t have an idea how hot a basketball player could be, look at Simons’ work in the third quarter.

• And just for fun, who needs Victor Wembanyama if you already have Bol Bol? The Orlando Magic lost a 115-102 decision to the New York Knicks tonight, but the 7-foot-2 Bol showed out with his 19 points, five boards, and five blocks. For the first time in his four-year career, Bol is a rotational piece for his team, and he’s averaging 10 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks in 16 minutes of play. It remains to be seen how sustainable it will be, but Bol is looking good on both ends of the floor so far.