Morant’s go-ahead layup leads Grizzlies
Ja Morant was not going to be stopped. Not even with Jimmy Butler guarding him full court.
Morant struggled against Butler and Bam Adebayo guarding him in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat.
But as the clock ticked down, added another game-winning highlight to the reel. .
The Grizzlies guard drove past Butler and scooped in his patented lefthand layup over two defenders with 1.2 seconds left. Fedexforum erupted and Morant held his hand to his ear as if to make a phone call.
The Grizzlies’ 89-85 win was one of their gutsiest of the year in coach Taylor Jenkins’ words.
Ja Morant was determined to win
Morant, who finished just 5-for-15 shooting, had the same attack mentality on the last play as he did last week when his tying layup fell short against Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.
The shot Wednesday evoked memories of his game-winner over the Charlotte Hornets last season and perhaps was just as satisfying against a Heat team that won 11 of its past 12 games.
Morant finished with 13 points and six assists as the Grizzlies (18-19) snapped a three-game losing streak despite just 36 paint points. They entered with a streak of 84 games with at least 40 paint points, the most since 1996-97.
Rotation changes
Jenkins promised a few changes entering Wednesday’s game. The first was Grayson Allen returning to the starting lineup in place of Desmond Bane.
The second was Xavier Tillman Sr. being the odd man out and earning a Did Not Play-coach’s Decision.
Allen responded with nine points, all in the first half, and Bane had eight points off the bench. But the biggest benefit was De’anthony Melton staying in the rotation.
Melton had one of his better games with 13 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and six assists. In a late sequence in the fourth quarter, he had a steal, offensive rebound and two free throws to put the Grizzlies up 85-83 with 29.4 seconds left
Precious Achiuwa returns
The former Memphis Tigers standout got a nice applause, with a few screams, from the crowd when he checked in with 5:28 remaining in the first.
But when action resumed, the love was gone.
Precious Achiuwa’s first shot attempt was blocked by Brandon Clarke and Ja Morant blew by him for a layup on the next possession.
He got his revenge in the second quarter. After grabbing an offensive rebound, Achiuwa pump-faked before driving for an angry dunk with Morant nearby in the air. It was his only basket, but he added five rebounds.