Grizzlies star Ja Morant drops 52 points, hits ridiculous halftime buzzer-beater
Ja Morant hit a ridiculous buzzer-beater to close out the first half Monday, and it was just one of many incredible things the Memphis Grizzlies star pulled off at FedExForum on the night.
Morant put up a career-high 52 points in the Grizzlies 118-105 win over the San Antonio Spurs. That also set a franchise record for points scored in a single game, and marked his second straight game in which he put up a career-high.
"I got close and they told me to go get 50."@thefishnation caught up with @JaMorant following the @memgrizz star's career night. pic.twitter.com/qyvvdSAZ6b
— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) March 1, 2022
Twenty-nine of Morant’s 52 points came in the first half, which he capped with a wild bucket at the buzzer.
With 0.4 seconds left in the second quarter, Steven Adams delivered a perfectly placed pass down the full length of the court to Morant, who caught it and shot it in one motion while fading back along the baseline.
Morant, along with everyone else in the arena, was left speechless.
STOP IT, JA 😱
(via @NBATV)pic.twitter.com/EWXNnTuwI1— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 1, 2022
That sequence is one that Morant and Adams likely can’t recreate in a game again if they tried.
“[Adams] looked at me and just told me to run. I just started early,” Morant said on Bally Sports. “I just told him to try to put it as close to the rim as he can. He delivered the pass, and I put everything into the shot and it went in.”
Minutes before that shot, Morant threw down a huge dunk over 7-footer Jakob Poeltl.
“I had to go finish with authority,” Morant said on Bally Sports. “Finished the play finally for everybody who saying, ‘Almost.’ That goes one for y’all right there, man.”
He also drilled a 3-pointer from the arena logo in the first quarter, and looked like he didn’t break a sweat doing it.
Ja Morant from WAYYYYYYY downtown 🎯pic.twitter.com/1c6TODmkq3
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 1, 2022
Morant finished with seven rebounds and two assists to go with his 52 points, and shot 22-of-30 from the field. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc. De’Anthony Melton and Tyus Jones were the only other Grizzlies to score in double figures, as they dropped 15 and 13 points, respectively.
The Grizzlies have won two of their last three games coming off the All-Star break, and currently sit in third in the Western Conference standings. Morant had dropped a career-high 46 points against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. He’s averaging 27.1 points and 6.7 assists per game this season.