Valanciunas’ big night leads Grizzlies in win

Jonas Valanciunas scored a season-high 29 points and matched his season best with 20 rebounds to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 127-112 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

Ja Morant added 21 points and 10 assists for Memphis, while rookie Desmond Bane finished with a season-high 20 points, going 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

Bradley Beal scored 21 points for the Wizards but was 6 of 22 from the field, including only 1 of 8 from 3-point range. Russell Westbrook finished with 20 points, while Davis Bertans and Deni Avdija scored 13 apiece.

The game tipped off the second half of the season for both teams sitting outside of the playoff picture, looking to rally for a postseason spot.

Washington wanted to prevent Memphis from scoring in the paint but had little success with the strategy, as the Grizzlies collected 78 paint points.

DURANT STILL OUT FOR NETS, WHO WILL BE CAUTIOUS WITH GRIFFIN >> Kevin Durant will remain out for the rest of this week and it is unclear when he will return to the Brooklyn Nets lineup, meaning he will miss more than a month with a strained left hamstring.

Blake Griffin also will be sidelined when the Nets open the second half tonight against Boston, though he stressed he’s not injured. He and the Nets think it’s smart to take their time increasing his workload after signing Monday.

Durant hasn’t played since Feb. 13 at Golden State. The Nets hoped at first the injury wouldn’t be serious, but announced on Feb. 26 that a follow-up MRI showed a clearer picture of the injury and would keep Durant sidelined through the All-Star break.

Coach Steve Nash said Wednesday that Durant will have another scan of the injury next week.

CELTICS’ SMART TO RETURN AFTER 18-GAME HIATUS >> Boston Celtics guard Marcus

Smart plans to play tonight, marking his return from a calf injury sustained on Jan. 30.

Smart practiced Wednesday and head coach Brad Stevens said the thinking is Smart will be ready for playing time against the Brooklyn Nets. Smart missed 18 games and was not able to practice during his rehab. He was averaging career-bests in scoring (13.1 points per game) and assists (6.1) before the injury. ALDRIDGE, SPURS AGREE TO PART WAYS >> LaMarcus Aldridge and the San Antonio

Spurs have agreed to part ways, with the announcement coming from Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich in his pregame media availability prior to Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks in Dallas.

Aldridge, a seven-time All-Star in his sixth season with San Antonio, has missed eight of the Spurs’ past 11 games with a hip injury and then a stomach ailment. The 35-year old center/forward is in his 15th NBA season, with the first nine in Portland.

The team said it will use the next two weeks leading up to the March 25 trade deadline to allow Aldridge to “work on some opportunities elsewhere,” according to Popovich.

COACH: LEONARD’S WORDS WERE ‘DISTASTEFUL AND HURTFUL’ >> Meyers Leonard’s coach and Miami Heat teammates offered no excuse for his use of an anti-Semitic slur while livestreaming a video game earlier this week, nor did they make any effort to hide their disappointment in him in their first public comments about the incident.

“He said something that was extremely distasteful and hurtful,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And we’re left with the aftermath of that.”

Leonard’s use of the slur began circulating widely on social media Tuesday afternoon. Within a few hours, he apologized, the NBA opened an investigation and the Heat announced that he will be away from the team indefinitely. CAVS’ LONGTIME BROADASTER DIES >> Joe Tait, a longtime Cleveland sports broadcaster and voice of the Cavaliers for more than four decades, died Wednesday following a lengthy batter with kidney disease and liver cancer. He was 83.

Tait was with the Cavaliers from their inception in 1970 until he retired in 2011, calling over 3,000 games. In his final season, the Cavs honored Tait with a commemorative banner that hangs alongside some of the team’s retired jersey numbers in the rafters of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.