Xavier Munford Makes NBA Debut for Memphis Grizzlies in 96-86 Loss to Bucks

Xavier Munford saw 11 minutes of action last night for the Memphis Grizzlies in his NBA debut.

For the first time since 2013, there’s a Rhode Island Ram in the NBA. Xavier Munford made his debut for the Memphis Grizzlies last night, tallying 11 minutes off the bench in a 96-86 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The injury-depleted Grizzlies fought hard, but they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter as Milwaukee pulled away.

Sounds familiar, right? It seems like Memphis is the perfect team for Rhody fans to be following right about now. Basketball gods, you are too cruel.

Back to Munford. The rookie came off the bench in the second quarter and immediately made his impact felt on defense. X picked up two steals and a rebound in just six minutes of work in the second quarter, logging a +/- of +4 in that span. Unfortunately, Xavier’s shot was off as he went 0-for-2 from the field in that span.

Munford reentered the game late in the third quarter, helping to key a 6-0 run that gave Memphis the lead. X also found the scoring column during the run, nailing a pair of free throws to put his team ahead.

When it was all said and done, the night looked like this: 11 minutes, 0-for-3 shooting, 0-for-1 from three, 2-for-2 from the line, two points, one rebound, two steals, one turnover, +/- of +4. Yeah, the shot was a little off, but it was still a solid debut for the URI grad.

Xavier Munford and the Grizzlies are back in action on Saturday night when they host the Clippers. Tip is set for 8:00 p.m. EST.