In late January, former Duke basketball bucket-getter Matthew Hurt inked a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies and saw his first NBA action since going undrafted in 2021 following his two years with the Blue Devils. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward responded with 10 points in 23 minutes on the floor.
He played two more times across his five-game stint on the Memphis bench, adding another seven points to his career total in the NBA.
And this week, the 23-year-old Hurt, currently the fourth-leading scorer in the G League with his 24.1 points per game for the Memphis Hustle, got another call-up. Again, it's a 10-day deal.
According to the following congratulatory post, he accounts for two of the NBA's 52 call-ups from the G League this season:
A big-time shout out to @MemphisHustle star Matt Hurt, who signed his second 10-Day Contract with the @memgrizz for the 52nd #NBACallUp of the year. pic.twitter.com/ZXhj8cJvzR
— NBA G League (@nbagleague) February 26, 2024
On Monday night, he received five minutes off the bench late in the Grizzlies' 111-86 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets (Brooklyn's NBA Blue Devil, rookie forward Dariq Whitehead, underwent season-ending shin surgery in January). Hurt grabbed two rebounds but didn't tally a single attempt from the field or charity stripe.
Memphis' other former two-year Duke basketball talent, 27-year-old sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard, finished with 11 points, two rebounds, and a steal while shooting 2-for-3 from downtown across his 24 minutes as a starter.
The injury-riddled Grizzlies (20-38), all but eliminated from playoff contention, now travel to face the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves (40-17) at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday. Minnesota recently assigned its Duke pro, 22-year-old forward Wendell Moore Jr., to its G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.
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