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Memphis Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant once again came up big against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Morant finished with a game-high 31 points, including a clutch alley-oop dunk, as the Grizzlies secured a 116-115 overtime victory. Afterward, the two-time All-Star took the opportunity to taunt his doubters.
Memphis trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half of Tuesday’s contest before rallying to tie the game. Grizzlies star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. had a chance to win the game at the free-throw line in regulation. However, he missed the second of two free throws with the game tied 103-103 with 0.4 seconds remaining.
Fortunately for Jackson, the Grizzlies completed their comeback in OT, outscoring the Pelicans 13-12. Morant capped off the win with an exclamation point alley-oop finish which put Memphis up 115-109 with 13.7 seconds remaining.
After the game, a jovial Morant could be seen running down the tunnel into Memphis’ locker room. On his way, he took a shot at those who doubted whether the Grizzlies could repeat their success against the Pelicans.
“They thought it wasn’t going to happen again!” Morant said.
With the win, Memphis improved to 4-0 since Morant’s return from his 25-game suspension for a gun-related incident, including two wins over New Orleans.
In the Grizzlies’ previous matchup against the Pelicans on Dec. 19, Morant hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating floater to give Memphis a 115-113 victory.
As for the Pelicans, Tuesday’s loss marked their second straight and their third in their last four games.
Memphis (10-19) will look to keep its winning streak alive on the road against the defending champion Denver Nuggets (22-10) on Thursday.
New Orleans (17-14) will look to get back on track when it hosts the Utah Jazz (13-18) on Thursday.
Also Read: “Absolute dumba**”: NBA fans go off at Ja Morant as he fires gun shots in celebration
How has Ja Morant fared since his return from his suspension?
Ja Morant hasn’t skipped a beat since his return from his suspension. After Tuesday’s performance, he has scored at least 30 points in three of his first four games.
Through four contests, he is averaging 28.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 3-pointers per game on 50.6% shooting.
His impressive play earned him the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week award for Week 9 of the season, his first week back.
It remains to be seen if Morant will be able to carry the shorthanded Grizzlies into the West play-in/playoff picture. But so far, most would probably agree that everything has gone about as well as possible for Memphis since his return.
