NBA: Pelicans edge Grizzlies 135-134 in overtime despite Jerome's 40 points

Ty Jerome scored 40 points, including five of six three-pointers, and Memphis still lost. At the FedExForum, in front of 13,322 spectators, New Orleans won 135-134 after overtime on Monday 2 November 2026. The game was decided by a single point, after 16 lead changes and a final regulation quarter that levelled the sides at 124-124.

The damage to Memphis is plain: the six-game winning streak that opened the season is over. The Grizzlies remain 2nd in the Western Conference at 6-1. New Orleans improve to 3-4 and sit 11th in the West. Also reported: New Orleans have won three in a row. Yves Missi, Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray (all New Orleans) were reported absent; Missi and Poole were out with injuries, while Murray missed a third game for personal reasons.

New Orleans go ten up, Memphis take control before the break

The visitors had the better start. With 6 min 05 s left in the first quarter, New Orleans already led 16-12. A 9-0 run had turned the score from 10-7 to 10-16, before a more balanced end to the period. The Pelicans still closed the first twelve minutes ahead, 34-31.

The second quarter initially confirmed that trend. A 7-0 run stretched the gap to ten points, 31-41, New Orleans' biggest lead of the night. Memphis did not let the game slip away. The Grizzlies won the quarter 31-25 and went into the locker room three points up, 62-59. The swing even carried across the break: Memphis went on a 9-0 run, from 55-59 to 64-59, and took back control in the opening seconds of the second half.

A 41-point third quarter for the Pelicans

The third quarter held much of the plot. Memphis reached their biggest lead, seven points, at 80-73. New Orleans responded immediately with an 8-0 run that put the Pelicans back in front, 81-80. At the midpoint of the period the score was still tight, 84-82 to New Orleans, but the visitors then accelerated.

The Pelicans scored 41 points in the third quarter, their best total for a period in this game, and went into the final period five points up, 100-95. Another 8-0 run, which began late in the third quarter and carried into the fourth, took the score from 95-94 to 95-102. By then New Orleans had seized the initiative, without ever turning that lead into a decisive break.

Nine points to claw back, then a one-point overtime

With 6 min 07 s left in the fourth quarter, New Orleans still led 111-106. At 1 min 43 s, the gap was nine points, 124-115. Memphis then found their last response of regulation: an 11-0 run let the Grizzlies force the tie at 124-124, then edge in front in overtime, 126-124.

Overtime was as tight as the rest of the night. New Orleans scored 11 points, Memphis 10, and the final score stood at 135-134. The quarter scores sum up the tension: 34-31 to the Pelicans in the first, 31-25 to Memphis in the second, 41-33 to New Orleans in the third, 29-24 to the Grizzlies in the fourth, then 11-10 to the Pelicans in overtime.

Key players' numbers

For the Pelicans, Zion Williamson finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds and no turnovers. Karlo Matkovic also reached 25 points, with 5 three-pointers and a plus-minus of +7. Derik Queen, off the bench, added 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Trey Murphy III contributed 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Saddiq Bey, a substitute, added 18 points and 5 rebounds. Jeremiah Fears finished with 12 points and 7 assists, but also 4 turnovers.

For the Grizzlies, Jerome had 40 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 37 minutes. Cameron Boozer contributed 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Jaylen Wells added 16 points, with 3 three-pointers, while Isaiah Stewart, off the bench, posted a plus-minus of +9 with 14 points and 5 rebounds. Cam Spencer handed out 7 assists in 19 minutes, with 13 points.

Three takeaways

A nine-point comeback was not enough. Memphis trailed 115-124 with 1 min 43 s left in regulation. The Grizzlies forced overtime, briefly retook the lead, then lost by a point.

Memphis shot better but turned the ball over more. The Grizzlies finished 47 of 91 from the field, including 18 of 40 from three. New Orleans ended 48 of 101, including 14 of 37 from deep. The difference lies elsewhere: 16 turnovers for Memphis, twice the Pelicans' 8.

New Orleans answered every spell. The Pelicans produced several unanswered runs: 9-0 in the first quarter, 7-0 in the second, then two 8-0 runs around the third quarter. In a game with 16 lead changes, those stretches weighed as much as overtime.

The SNA view

The percentages do not tell the whole story of what Memphis let slip. The Grizzlies were sharper from deep, with 18 of 40 from three against 14 of 37 for New Orleans, and they also won the rebounding battle, 49 to 47. But they took 91 shots, against 101 for the Pelicans, ten fewer. The 16 turnovers largely explain that gap in volume. In a game decided by one point, every possession given away weighs heavily.

That is the paradox: Memphis got a huge individual performance from Jerome, support from Boozer and bench contributions from Stewart and Spencer, but New Orleans protected the ball better. The Pelicans, with three squad members reported absent, limited their errors to 8 and took more shots than their opponents. The win owes as much to that detail as to their 41-point third quarter.

What next

Memphis (6-1, 2nd in the West) host Indiana on Thursday 5 November at 2:00, Brazzaville time. New Orleans (3-4, 11th in the West) welcome Utah at the same time.