There was nothing that could stop the Raptors on defense Thursday in Memphis.

Not a nice retro evening that is reminiscent of an earlier rivalry. Ja Morant, who isn’t one of the league’s fastest or most dynamic scorers, and his 7-foot-4 pick-and-roll partner Zach Edey were ready to punch Toronto in the mouth from the opening tip. No exclusion for their head coach, who barely moved the energy level.

With six minutes left, it was no longer a question of whether the Grizzlies would force an embarrassing number on the Raptors. It was about whether it would be a historical embarrassing number. And not even that could force much defensive execution.

That’s the number the Grizzlies scored in a 155-126 victory, a new franchise record for points allowed in a game for Toronto.

There were 18 three-pointers, 24 offensive rebounds and double-digit points scored by eight different Grizzlies.

There were also some fun asides and solid offensive performances from the Raptors. Cool. They allowed 155 points; Therefore, it is difficult to concentrate on anything else. A fitting example came midway through the third quarter when the Raptors trailed by just 16 points, came out of a timeout to score on six straight possessions, and were still down 14 points because they couldn’t get stops. At least it was close back then.

Teams often say to “purge” after a performance like this. Toronto better have a plumber on speed dial.

Below are some notes about the game.

• Darko Rajakovic opened the fourth quarter by being sent off for two technical fouls. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen Rajakovic this heated, not even during his famous tirade in Los Angeles last season, as Ochai Agbaji and Barnes had to help hold him back from the officials.

The Raptors are the league’s most foul-prone team, and at times Rajakovic felt like the whistle wasn’t equal the other way around. That’s especially true with the calls his star Barnes receives amid traffic in the paint.

• Edey’s presence and Jakob Poeltl’s absence meant a rare start for Kelly Olynyk. It didn’t work, and basically no line-up option against Edey either. The Grizzlies scored a plus-29 in his 27 minutes, and while many of those were playing alongside other starters who had split power, Edey was currently a major problem for a team with such limited size. He finished the game with 21 points on 9 of 15 shooting, including two three-pointers, with 16 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

By the way, Edey continues to have a really strong and exciting rookie year. Some of the hits he received 18 months ago were fair, but he has worked tirelessly to improve the weaker parts of his game, which was on full display at Purdue last year. He looks like an undisputed NBA rotation player, likely starter, a key factor in Memphis’ future and hopefully a key factor for Canada in future international events.

What a bright spot in the NBA season.

• Bruno Fernando’s contract is fully guaranteed for the season unless he is released by January 7th. He has only appeared in two games since November 27th, only one of which wasn’t a waste of time. He didn’t even play on Thursday, giving up his spot in garbage time to Ulrich Chomche.

Fernando provided a nice, brief resurgence at the start of the year and was a good piece of culture, but with his recent outing things seem to be out of order here.

By waiving Fernando next week, the Raptors would retain a little more roster flexibility and wiggle room under the tax to absorb money early in the trade season. It would also give them the opportunity to explore some 10-day contract options and, if the spot remains open after the deadline, convert Jamison Battle to a standard (likely multi-year) NBA contract.

• The Raptors briefly played with Barnes and Barrett off the field at the same time, which has happened in some recent games when both were available. Entering this game, the Raptors posted a disastrous -22.5 net rating in 130 minutes without either of them on the field (and Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley also on the bench or injured); Against this impression, the Grizzlies managed a quick 6-0 run in less than a minute this evening.

Rajakovic has very few options available with the roster so thinned out, and playing Barnes and Barrett together is Toronto’s best way to accomplish that win Minutes, but they just can’t survive right now without any of the offensive players in the game.

By the way, Barnes and Barrett combined for 53 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists with just five turnovers. They were both really solid and efficient offensively, which was probably the only bright spot here; In the end, they still have good chemistry.

• In addition to Quickley, Poeltl and Bruce Brown, Jamal Shead (knee) and Ja’Kobe Walter (illness) were also on the inactive list. This required the team’s 15th different starting lineup in 31 games, already half of last year’s franchise record of 30.

The Raptors haven’t put their projected starting lineup together for a single game yet. Quickley, Barnes, Barrett and Dick have played a total of 18 minutes together since the big trade on Dec. 30, a span of 81 games.

If there’s one team that doesn’t feel sorry for the Raptors’ injury problems, it’s the Grizzlies. Memphis leads the league in team games lost for the second straight year. In some ways, their move up the table underlines that the silver medalists are dealing with last year’s injury problems: the team is far more experienced and capable of contributing this year than it might otherwise have been. Any team would certainly prefer a healthy roster over a wacky one, but the Grizzlies made a gourmet chicken salad with 18-month-old chicken…well, you know.

Santi Aldama was added to the roster in that game and left in the first quarter with an ankle injury. He’s been a big contributor this year, especially in Edey’s absence, but knowing the Grizzlies, another big player will step up in his place if he has to miss time.

• The aesthetic of this game was beautiful, with both teams wearing retro colors and the Grizzlies using their retro Vancouver-era court. Individually, they create two of the best looks in the league and go perfectly together if you’re of a certain age, taste or level of nostalgia.

The unofficial Naismith Cup meeting was also an opportunity for everyone to once again explore the mystery surrounding this piece of hardware. Matt Devlin explained it on the show, but if you’re looking for more, I’ve delved deeper into its history and whereabouts in 2020. And I mean deep – I spoke to the Raptors, the Grizzlies, the NBA, NBA Canada and even the Israeli Ambassador for Sports and Goodwill. The fingers continue to point in different directions, but I have no fixed location.

• In keeping with the matchup and throwback theme, the Raptors and Grizzlies combined to set a new NBA record with six Canadian players in one game: Edey, Olynyk, Barrett, Chris Boucher, AJ Lawson and Brandon Clarke. Very cool!

• Cheeky move by Morant late in the second quarter: Davion Mitchell lost a shoe on offense, and before Mitchell could get it back, Morant threw it to the other side of the court, forcing Mitchell to finish that possession and the subsequent defensive one in one Shoe.

• The previous Raptors record for points allowed in a game was 152, set in the 1997-98 season. Lamond Murray led the Clippers with 25 points. Chauncey Billups was minus-31 for Toronto.

• The Raptors get two more days off before playing at home against Atlanta on Sunday. (The Hawks team has two old friends in Brittni Donaldson and Ryan Schmidt, both of whom spent several years with the organization.)

At least a few Raptors were scheduled to travel to Mississauga on Friday for an afternoon Raptors 905 game. With the G League Winter Showcase now complete, the standings will reset, leaving the 905 0-0 heading into the 34-game “regular season” portion of the schedule. The somewhat strange format convention gives the 905 new life after a 16-game start that was marred by injuries and roster changes. AJ Lawson, Frank Kaminsky and Jared Rhoden (once healthy) should be important additions for the second leg.

• Part one of Sportsnet’s four-part documentary, Raptors Delight, aired after the game and is available on Sportsnet.ca. I can’t recommend the main episode, The birthenough. The amount of work that went into it behind the scenes was cool to see from the inside, and I might be there myself in parts three and four (I haven’t seen the final cut yet; I better make it, you’ve been warned).

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season!