Morant scores 17 in his return
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Twotime All-Star guard Ja Morant was welcomed back Wednesday night with a standing ovation and cheers throughout the arena in his first action after missing nine games — eight because of an NBA suspension.
Morant entered the game against Houston with 3:05 left in the first quarter.
This is Morant’s first action since the Grizzlies lost March 3 at Denver. Hours after the game, Morant live-streamed himself at a Denver-area strip club showing himself briefly brandishing a gun.
He lost $669,000 in pay during his suspension.
Memphis went 6-3 during Morant’s absence. He played 24 minutes and finished with 17 points as the Grizzlies beat the Rockets 130-125. Jaren Jackson Jr. had a season-high 37 points to lead Memphis.
HARDEN OUT: Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden was ruled out for Wednesday night’s game at Chicago because of left Achilles soreness.
TO SELL OR NOT TO SELL: Less than a week after a report surfaced that Michael Jordan was in serious talks to sell a large part of his stake in the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan’s family office cast doubt on that possibility.
On Wednesday, Jump Management, Jordan’s family company, released a statement indicating a sale is not imminent.
CLIPPERS: Los Angeles may be without All-Star Paul George to start the postseason. The team said Wednesday that George has a sprained right knee.
PELICANS: All-Star forward Zion Williamson will not return for at least two more weeks, jeopardizing whether he will be a part of the New Orleans playoff push. He has not played since Jan. 2.
Wednesday’s games
NUGGETS 118, WIZARDS 104: In Washington, Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 12 rebounds as Denver beat the short-handed Wizards, who were without three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal due to left knee soreness. The Nuggets went 15 for 32 from beyond the arc.
HEAT 127, KNICKS 120: In Miami, Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, Tyler Herro scored 14 of his 22 in the fourth quarter and the Heat moved closer to escaping play-in tournament range.
PACERS 118, RAPTORS 114: In Toronto, Rookie guard Andrew Nembhard had 25 points and 10 assists, and Indiana ended the Raptors’ home winning streak at seven.
Pascal Siakam scored 18 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter for Toronto.
BUCKS 130, SPURS 94: In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 14 rebounds in just 24 minutes for the NBA-leading Bucks, who extended their Eastern Conference advantage to 2½ games over Boston.
WARRIORS 127, MAVERICKS 125: In Dallas, Stephen Curry scored 20 points and assisted on Draymond Green’s tiebreaking three-point play late, leading Golden State. Luka Doncic had 30 points after missing five games with a left thigh strain for Dallas. TIMBERWOLVES 125, HAWKS 124: In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns returned from a 51-game absence (right calf strain), scoring 22 points as the T-Wolves rallied past Atlanta. Naz Reid added 26 points off the bench for Minnesota.
76ERS 116, BULLS 91: In Chicago, Tyrese Maxey scored 16 of his 21 points during Philadelphia’s dominant first half, while MVP candidate Joel Embiid had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven
assists before sitting out for the second half . TRAIL BLAZERS 127, JAZZ 115: In Salt Lake City, Damian Lillard scored 30 points, rookie Shaedon Sharpe had a careerhigh 24 and Portland stopped a six-game losing streak.