Hustle defeat Suns in first matchup in Arizona

Memphis, Tenn. – The Memphis Hustle (13-16), the NBA G League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies, defeated the Valley Suns (17-13) 112-111 in the first matchup between the teams in Tempe, Ariz.

DJ Steward led the Hustle scoring 27 points, shooting 12-19 from the field. David Johnson added 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Armando Bacot totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds. Yuki Kawamura contributed 16 points and six assists. Nate Hinton registered 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Mamadi Diakite paced the Suns with 28 points and 15 rebounds. TyTy Washington Jr. tallied 24 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. Jalen Bridges scored 15 points.

After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half, the Suns rallied to tie the game at 60 at the halftime break. The Suns led 106-102 with 3:30 for their largest lead of the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Johnson pushed the Hustle to a two-point lead with 2:03 remaining. After a Jaden Shackelford 3-pointer helped the Suns reclaim the lead, Steward hit back-to-back floaters to help push the Hustle to victory.

Memphis outscored Valley 26-9 in fast break points. The Suns outrebounded the Hustle 50-48 and scored 14 second chance points. The Hustle limited the Suns bench to 18 points. The game featured 21 lead changes.

The teams will complete the two-game set at Mullett Arena on Friday, March 21, at 9 p.m. CT.

Single game tickets for all regular season Hustle games are on sale now. Tickets start as low as $15 and are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com or by calling (901) 888-HOOP. In addition, all-inclusive floor seats and tables are still available for purchase, and the Hustle are accepting $50 deposits for groups of 10-or-more.  

For more information on the Memphis Hustle, visit memphishustle.com, follow the team on Twitter/X and Instagram (@MemphisHustle) or like Memphis Hustle on Facebook.