Morant’s return inspires both sides
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Rockets would take on everything the Grizzlies could throw at them, somehow scoring enough to stay on their heels, even briefly going in front in the closing minutes.
From the return of Ja Morant and the emotional, electric atmosphere in a packed arena it inspired, to Jaren Jackson Jr.’s seasonhigh scoring night, the Rockets went on the road to test their improvement and ended up chasing a win.
The chase, however, ended three minutes early when the Grizzlies finished the game as they had started it, scoring on nearly every possession to pull out a tough, 130-125 win Wednesday night at FedEx Forum.
When the Grizzlies had to be nearly perfect down the stretch, they were.
Desmond Bane tipped in a missed 3-pointer with 2½ minutes left for a threepoint Memphis lead, but the Rockets answered with Kevin Porter Jr. banking in a mid-range jumper.
The Grizzlies went back to Jackson, as they had all night, but he made one of two free throws, as the Rockets’ Alperen Sengun had moments earlier.
That’s when the Grizzlies finally broke serve. Jalen Green missed a jumper and Sengun fouled Jackson chasing the rebound. Jackson gave the Grizzlies a four-point lead with 1:38 remaining.
Morant tried to draw a charge on Sengun but was called for the foul. The Grizzlies challenged the call and won the challenge, not only keeping Sengun from going to the line but also giving him a sixth foul.
Bane scored on drives on the Grizzlies’ next two possessions, opening a seven-point lead with a 13-5 run over four minutes. By then, the Rockets had to foul to stop the clock, and Bane made his free throws to score 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Facing the secondranked defense in the NBA, the Rockets had no trouble scoring. Porter had his second triple-double. K.J. Martin had a careerhigh 31 points. Green led the Rockets with 32, making 10 of 18 shots.
The Grizzlies, however, had Jackson scoring 37, they had Morant back, and that was just enough.
A Ja-gantic return
The FedEx Forum crowd cheered when Morant appeared on the big screens before the game. It roared when he approached the scorer’s table, and rose to a standing ovation when he checked
in.
But nothing compared to the explosion of sound that would follow.
He had teased what was to come in the first quarter, but on the first possession of the second quarter, Morant got the ball on the wing and took off like a lightning strike, finishing with a two-handed slam through a foul by Martin.
Morant looked unstoppable on occasion but was clearly still working his way back after missing nine games, the first with an eight-game NBA suspension for conduct detrimental to the league and then Monday’s game.
But with 4:20 left in the first quarter the game tied, Morant returned and scored as soon as he touched the ball.
If it was not already clear, he made sure it was known that he was back, which would explain the sound coming from Tennessee on Wednesday.
Martin’s answer
Martin was livid. He often objects to officials’ calls and is not shy about sharing his thoughts. He can shoot his arms in the air with Eric Gordon speeds. But this was different.
He had come up empty on three dunk attempts, two in which he was certain that he had been fouled. He and the Rockets’ bench were all over official Nate Green. A timeout and the efforts of Rockets teammates and coaches did not cool him down, to the point Grizzlies fans suggested Martin chill, a suggestion he countered by pointing out that they were perhaps not aware of all the facts (or something to that effect).
But he also had done what he normally does, and then some. Martin finished with a career-high 31, nailing a 3 to put the Rockets in front with 5½ minutes left.
Martin has scored at least 20 points 10 times this season after reaching 20 six times in his first two seasons. He made 5 of 12 shots Monday against the Warriors, but before that, he had made at least 50 percent in 13 consecutive games, the longest streak (other than his previous 13game streak this season) since Clint Capela did so in 2018-19.
Half full, or empty?
The Rockets played hard. They competed. They showed the strides they had made offensively. They still trailed by 11 at halftime, even without the Grizzlies getting a whole lot from Morant in a super sub role.
That was because the Rockets could not stop the Grizzlies inside. And when they sought to defend the lane, like a boxer covering up after too many body blows, they could not stop Memphis on the perimeter.
The Rockets knocked down 51 percent of their 3s in the first half, enough to score 64 points. But they allowed 75 with the Grizzlies beating them in the paint, on the boards and the 3-point line. To have a chance, they would have to take something away but never did.