Ja Morant is returning to the form that made him a two-time NBA All-Star and one of the league’s premier players.
Morant — who has endured back-to-back seasons interrupted by injury, with a league suspension tossed in — enters Monday’s game against the visiting Atlanta Hawks on a roll, minus an absence Saturday night.
Right shoulder soreness kept him from Saturday’s last-second loss to the San Antonio Spurs or he would have played six consecutive games for the first time in nearly two years. He’s had four straight 20-points-plus games for the first time since December 2023. The development is encouraging for Memphis.
In a 151-148 overtime win over the Suns on Tuesday, Morant shook off a miserable shooting night (7-of-25) by recovering when it counted. He scored the last 11 Memphis points in regulation to force overtime, including five points in the closing 9.2 seconds. He finished with 29 points and eight assists.
Against the Knicks on Friday in a one-point loss, Morant paced Memphis with 25 points and seven assists. Morant put the Grizzlies up 113-111 on an and-one with 14.1 seconds left. The Knicks answered nine seconds later with a 3-pointer. Morant was in position during the closing seconds for the game-winner, but his driving, left-handed layup rolled off the rim.
For the Grizzlies to finish strong and secure a high seed in the Western Conference, they’ll need consistent play (and more appearances) from Morant. With his input, the Grizzlies should be a candidate for the No. 2 seed.
“Despite the results, I thought we progressively got better as the road trip went from Indiana, to Orlando, then Cleveland,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “We have a lot of great takeaways (since the All-Star break) that we’ve got to continue to build on.”
In addition to Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. will be a key to a late-season run. He scored a season-high 42 points, including 31 in the second half, to give the Grizzlies an opportunity to recover from a 22-point first-half deficit against the Spurs on Saturday. The Grizzlies lost on a last-second shot.
“He was just in a groove all night,” Jenkins said.
Atlanta has been off since dropping a 128-112 decision Friday to Western Conference leader Oklahoma City, a game in which Hawks coach Quin Snyder was frustrated with his team’s defensive lapses.
“There were times on the defensive end where someone was wide open for a 3,” he said. “We just have to be better.”
In the quest to get better, Snyder made a second-half change. He started Georges Niang instead of Mouhamed Gueye at forward.
“Sometimes when you make a change it’s not one player’s fault,” Snyder said. “I thought the way we started the game needed to be better. Georges’ shooting, and his ball-handling, is something he brings to that position. You’ve got that guy that has played in those games.
“Our substitutions are going to continue. There are stretches in the game where we struggle. We’ve got to continue to look at those and try to address them and this was one of those. I’m not putting any (blame) on Mo’s shoulders. Mo’s been great. But in that situation, it made sense.”
Snyder was encouraged by the play of Onyeka Okongwu. He finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
“I think in pick and roll, or just in the flow of the game, he’s got good hands and we trust him,” Snyder said. “But his ability to (give us) another playmaker, or facilitator on the offensive end is really good. He’s been focused defensively and he just needs to keep doing that.”
–Field Level Media
