Pair of Duke basketball teammates go quiet in first-ever NBA Play-In Game

A pair of former Duke basketball teammates had quiet afternoons in the first-ever NBA Play-In Game.

The NBA made history on Saturday afternoon.

Perhaps the most important game of the season was played down in the bubble in Orlando, Florida, but it wasn’t a preseason game, it wasn’t a regular season game, and it wasn’t a postseason game.

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The Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies played in the first-ever Play-In Game as Memphis needed to defeat the Trail Blazers on Saturday and then in an eventual game on Sunday to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday evening.

Portland only needed to win one game to advance to the playoffs.

However, for the benefit of Duke basketball junkies, two former Blue Devils, who were teammates in Durham, took the floor in Grayson Allen for the Memphis Grizzlies and Gary Trent Jr. for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Fellow Blue Devils Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow are also on the Grizzlies, but Winslow was ruled out of the restarted season with a hip injury while knee soreness has sidelined Jones for the past nine games. Although there was some hope prior to Saturday that Jones would be able to play in some capacity, he was officially ruled out Saturday morning.

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As Allen and Trent Jr. have put on spectacular displays throughout the resumed regular season, both players had quiet overall performances but played a factor down the stretch of the ball game.

Coming off the bench, Gary Trent Jr. logged 35 minutes and added eight points, three rebounds, and an assist on 3-of-6 shooting, but the former second-round pick’s biggest impact came on the defensive end with a game-high five steals.

Grayson Allen also came off the bench and chipped in just three points, five rebounds, and an assist across 23 minutes in Portland’s 126-122 win.

The former National Champion was hit with a technical foul following an extremely questionable call on Blazers star Damien Lillard in the fourth quarter.

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Allen also split a pair of free throws that brought Memphis back to within one possession in the final minute of the ball game.

A promising season, yet disappointing restart of the season has come to an end for Memphis, but the future is extremely bright for the Grizzlies. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers look to shock the world against the Lakers starting on Tuesday night at 9:00pm EST on TNT.

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