Grizzlies’ Morant leads furious rally
The phone was ringing and Ja Morant answered the call.
Game 5 of the Memphis Grizzlies’ first-round playoff series Tuesday was tied when Morant drove to the basket and extended a left-handed layup over the Minnesota Timberwolves defense with one second remaining.
He then raised his hand to his ear, as if to mimic a phone call, as the Grizzlies defeated the Timberwolves 111-109 at Fedexforum to take a 3-2 series lead. The Grizzlies can clinch their first playoff series victory since 2015 in Game 6 on Friday in Minneapolis.
Morant scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and also had 13 rebounds and nine assists. Before the winning layup, Morant had been searching for a 3-pointer. He missed his first three, then the ball found his hands when the Grizzlies needed it most.
Tyus Jones missed a 3-pointer and Brandon Clarke tipped the ball over Timberwolves defenders to Morant’s hands.
Morant calmly took a step back and nailed a 3-pointer with 1:03 to play to give the Grizzlies their first lead since 50.1 seconds remained in the first quarter.
Morant made two free throws before Anthony Edwards tied the game on a 3pointer, setting the stage for Morant’s final heroics.
Here are some observations from the game:
Rotation changes, and Jaren Jackson Jr.’s foul trouble
The Grizzlies kept Xavier Tillman Sr. in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game, but they made rotation adjustments. John Konchar replaced a struggling De’anthony Melton and played thee first half minutes. Jaren Jackson Jr. was foul in foul trouble again, but starting Tillman allowed coach Taylor Jenkins to turn to Clarke when he pulled Jackson.
Clarke had 12 first-half points while playing more than twice as many minutes as Jackson.
Jackson led the Grizzlies with a +4 plus-minus rating in the first half, but he only played eight minutes. He fouled out
series. Four players were issued technical fouls. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins signaled to get Morant’s attention, then put his arm around the All-star point guard after Morant was talking to Timberwolves players directly in front of the referees on his way to the bench.
One of the players who received a technical foul was Desmond Bane. He mentioned after the game how the Timberwolves thought the Grizzlies were at their breaking point. Minnesota led by 13 points in the fourth quarter.
“Their players talking, ‘oh they’re about to fold, they about to fold,’” Bane said. “I knew that wasn’t the case.”
Morant heard the same talk Bane did. He saw it, too, when Beverley drove to the basket against Morant and scored a short floater and did the “too small” gesture in front of courtside onlookers Zach Randolph, Tee Morant and Usher on his way back up the court.
On the ensuing Grizzlies possession, Morant scored a floater over D’angelo Russell before doing a more exaggerated version of the “too small” gesture.
“It don’t bother me,” Morant said. “It’s nothing with us that people trying to make it. It’s not that.”
Morant was searching for answers early in the game. Free-throw line struggles bothered him, as he started the game 4-for-10 at the line before making his last seven. He missed his first three free-throw attempts and looked at his hands in disappointment.
Then, the crowd cheered him on as he dribbled and took a deep breathe before his fourth attempt.
Swish.
Morant started the game wearing yellow “scoring title” KD IV sneakers.
Maybe the scoring title sneakers indicated a big night was on the way, but Morant switched into his player-exclusive Kobe 6s in the second quarter after saying his KDS were too slippery.
The extra grip in his Kobe 6s proved beneficial when Morant rose through the air over the 6-foot-4 Malik Beasley and threw down one of his top dunks this season.
“I think that’s a play that can really get us going, really get us hype,” Brandon Clarke said.
Looking at Morant, you would have thought it was a basic two-handed dunk. He paused for half a second, and then ran back on defense.
“I really wasn’t excited about the dunk,” Morant said. “It was over a guard. That’s pretty easy.”
The Grizzlies were down 11 at that point. It was the end of the third quarter.
There was still much more chatter from Beverley, and there was Karl-anthony
Towns hushing the crowd with his index finger over his mouth when the Timberwolves led 92-79 in the fourth quarter.
The poster dunk was the start of Morant’s brilliance. He scored 13 of his fourth-quarter points in the final five minutes after Beverley signaled Morant was too small.
The -winning basket came on a play that Morant described as, “Go get a bucket, Ja.”
Then, Morant made a phone motion with his hand, indicating that it was time to call him. He answered. In a series that’s been more about Morant’s scoring struggles, he saved his biggest moment for when the Grizzlies needed it most.
“We battled,” he said. “Me personally, man, I’m giving it my all.”
Contact Damichael Cole at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @damichaelc