Ja Morant’s superstar season is sending waves through the league, shooting Memphis up the standings and shattering franchise records.
The newly minted All-Star did all three of those things on Saturday in Memphis’ statement 116-110 win over the Chicago Bulls. Morant scored a regular season career-high 46 points in the victory, the most ever scored by a member of the Grizzlies in the regular season. The former No. 2 overall pick shot 15-for-28 overall, including 3-for-4 from deep and 13-for-15 from the free throw line.
Morant’s signature night included a plethora of his gravity-defying assaults on the rim, including a 360-degree layup around Kia MVP candidate DeMar DeRozan and a one-handed alley-oop slam that set the Bulls crowd buzzing.
The win over the Bulls, who entered the night tied with Miami for first place in the Eastern Conference, keeps with the Grizzlies (42-20) within striking distance of second-place Golden State (43-17) with 20 games remaining in the regular season. Morant and the Grizzlies are eyeing a deeper plunge into the postseason after emerging from last year’s inaugural Play-In Tournament and losing to the top-seeded Jazz 4-1 in the first round.
Credit: NBA
