Grizzlies’ Ja Morant drops 34 points and makes game-winner in his return from suspension

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant made his 2023-24 season debut on Tuesday, and it was a remarkable one. In his first appearance in an NBA game in 235 days, Morant scored 34 points on 12-for-24 shooting, with eight assists, two steals, a block and the game-winner. 

With 9.1 seconds left and the score tied, the Grizzlies put the ball in Morant’s hands. He proceeded to take Herb Jones off the dribble and deliver them a 115-113 come-from-behind victory.

Morant did not play in the Grizzlies’ first 25 games because he was serving a suspension for conduct detrimental to the league. On May 13, he brandished a gun on a livestream, his second such incident in 10 weeks.

“I’ve been putting work in, man,” Morant said in a walk-off interview on TNT. “I ain’t played a game in eight months. Had a lot of time to learn myself, a lot of hard days where I went through it. But basketball is my life, what I love, therapeutic for me, and I’m just excited to be back.”

If what Memphis has been missing wasn’t obvious — its offense ranked dead last entering Tuesday’s game — this performance made it clear: Morant’s ability to get into the paint is a game-changer. On the Grizzlies’ first offensive possession, he ran a high pick-and-roll, got downhill and earned a pair of free throws. Late in the first quarter, he pressured the rim in transition and threw a perfect lob to Ziaire Williams …

… and then hit Santi Aldama with a skip pass for a corner 3.

Morant’s first genuine highlight occurred early in the second quarter. He split a pick-and-roll and threw an underhanded lefty lob to Jaren Jackson Jr. for an easy two:

Shortly thereafter, he attacked Zion Williamson in a pick-and-roll and finished over Jonas Valanciunas with his left hand: 

The Pelicans then broke the game open with a 28-2 run, and Williamson was hardly on the court for any of it. (Due to foul trouble, Williamson only played six minutes in the first half.) The run included a Grizzlies scoring drought that lasted more than five minutes and ended when Morant got downhill and scored in traffic.

Memphis trailed by as many as 24, but stormed all the way back in the second half, thanks largely to Morant attacking the basket. He scored 13 points in the period, including an and-1 off a nasty spin move that left Valanciunas in the dust:

Morant remained relentless in the final frame. In the final two minutes, he gave the Grizzlies the lead three separate times: first with a floater over Jones, one of the league’s best defenders, then with a driving, twisting layup and finally with the game-winner.

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Jackson scored 24 points on 6-for-10 shooting and blocked three shots, and Desmond Bane added 21 points and five assists. New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram matched Morant’s 34 points (on 11-for-18.shooting, with six assists) in the loss.  

With the win, Memphis improved to 7-19 on the season. The Morant show continues when the Grizzlies host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.