Grizzlies' Perfect Start Ends in Heartbreak as Pelicans Steal 135-134 Thriller

The Grizzlies' undefeated season came crashing down in the cruelest fashion Wednesday night, falling 135-134 to a shorthanded Pelicans squad that had no business winning this game on paper. Memphis entered 6-0 with fortress-like home splits, and New Orleans was missing both starting center Yves Missi and sixth-man Jordan Poole while hemorrhaging 130.5 points per game on the road. The math screamed Grizzlies blowout. The scoreboard had other ideas.

DarkHorse's Grizzlies -6.5 pick looked bulletproof in the war room—elite efficiency versus a porous defense that couldn't stop anyone through two road games. Instead, New Orleans torched the nets for 135 points in FedExForum, turning Memphis' supposed defensive advantage into a mirage. The Pelicans shot the lights out when it mattered, and the Grizzlies couldn't answer down the stretch despite posting 134 points themselves.

This wasn't a case of Memphis sleepwalking; both teams went nuclear offensively. But when you're laying 6.5 at home against a team missing two rotation pieces, you need to win by seven, not lose by one. The pick missed spectacularly, and the Grizzlies' perfect record died with it. Sometimes the basketball gods just laugh at your spreadsheet.