Grizzlies Vs Mavericks: Memphis' 124-105 Win Shifts NBA Draft Lottery Landscape
In the Feb. 27 matchup at American Airlines Center, the Grizzlies Vs Mavericks game ended in a 124-105 wire-to-wire victory for Memphis, a result that matters less for immediate playoff hopes and more for NBA draft lottery positioning.
Grizzlies Vs Mavericks: Game recap
Memphis rolled to a convincing 124-105 win over Dallas, capitalizing on 21 Mavericks turnovers and converting those miscues into 36 points. Cam Spencer led Memphis (22-36) with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting. The victory was comprehensive and maintained Memphis’ standing in the draft lottery picture.
Draft lottery implications after the 124-105 result
Memphis began the day with the eighth-best odds for the No. 1 overall pick, while Dallas started seventh; the teams were separated by a half game entering Feb. 27. The Grizzlies’ win created separation in the reverse standings but left the formal projections unchanged: Memphis remains projected in the No. 8 lottery slot and Dallas (21-38) stays at No. 7. As listed in the projections, Memphis holds a 26. 3% chance of landing a top-four pick and a 6% chance at the No. 1 overall selection. Dallas’ top-four odds are listed at 32%.
What the standings and postseason picture look like
Both franchises entered Feb. 27 with losing records and were far removed from the Western Conference playoff picture. Memphis sits 11th in the Western Conference and is five games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 10 seed. The structure for postseason qualification is clear: the top 10 teams advance, with the top six securing automatic playoff berths and seeds No. 7 through No. 10 competing in the play-in tournament for the final two spots.
Tiebreaker, season series and remaining schedule realities
Memphis improved to 3-0 against Dallas this season, clinching the season series with one matchup remaining. That series outcome carries tiebreaker implications: if the teams finish with identical records, the Mavericks would retain the better draft positioning in the reverse standings because of the tiebreaker. A remaining strength-of-schedule ranking places Dallas with the second-toughest schedule left in the league and Memphis with the sixth-toughest slate. For the Grizzlies to climb further in the lottery order, they will likely need Dallas to steal a few unexpected wins down the stretch.
Longer-range lottery timeline and other standings context
The NBA draft lottery is scheduled for May 10. The two-day NBA draft is set for June 25-26. In the reverse standings, the Utah Jazz sit sixth, but Memphis is five games ahead of Utah in the loss column, creating a significant gap for Memphis to erase if it hopes to move past teams ahead of it in the reverse order.
Postgame notes and reporting context
The game was characterized as one of Memphis’ more complete performances of the season. A postgame item attributed to Tuomas Iisalo dated 2. 27. 2026 is referenced in coverage, but details of that postgame are unclear in the provided context. Damichael Cole is identified as the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer in the available coverage; additional contact details and social handles supplied in the original material have been withheld here.
Taken together, the Grizzlies’ 124-105 victory over the Mavericks on Feb. 27 reshapes the draft-lottery conversation more than the playoff landscape. Memphis’ win created modest separation in the reverse standings, reinforced its season-series advantage over Dallas, and left both teams with distinct and narrow paths forward as the league moves toward the May lottery and June draft.
