Ja Morant scored 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the host Charlotte Hornets 124-100 on Tuesday night, but they saw one of their starters injured on a scary fall.
Memphis rookie Jaylen Wells left the court on a stretcher late in the first half after crashing hard to the court. Wells suffered a broken right wrist but was awake and alert, with movement in his extremities, per Memphis interim coach Tuomas Iisalo.
Wells was going up for a dunk when the Hornets’ KJ Simpson fouled him from behind in an undercut that left Wells in a vulnerable position. Simpson was ejected when the foul was upgraded to Flagrant 2.
Players from both teams were kneeling in prayer as medical staff tended to Wells, who had three points, five rebounds and two assists in 11 minutes. His dunk gave Memphis a 62-44 lead with 1:10 to play in the second quarter.
Desmond Bane racked up 19 points, Zach Edey had 17 points and 19 rebounds and Jaren Jackson Jr. posted 14 points for Memphis (47-32), which has won three in a row. Off the bench, Santi Aldama had 11 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 10 points.
Miles Bridges led the Hornets (19-60) in their home finale with 13 points. Tidjane Salaun provided 12 in a reserve role, Josh Okogie supplied 11 and Moussa Diabate had 10.
The Grizzlies jumped out to a 33-18 lead after the first quarter and excelled in transition. Memphis also controlled the boards, finishing with a 52-38 rebounding advantage.
Morant, who missed the team’s previous game Saturday, made four 3-pointers while going 10-for-21 from the field and delivering a game-high eight assists. More than half of the Grizzlies’ 93 shots were from beyond the 3-point arc (18 of 55).
The Hornets’ shooting woes continued, as they were 11-for-37 on 3-point attempts. They didn’t help themselves at the free-throw line with a 14-for-21 mark. Charlotte finished at 45.7 percent (37 of 81) from the field.
Charlotte, which lost by 12 in January at Memphis, finished 12-29 at home. The Hornets will complete their season with three road games.
–Field Level Media
