It’s been a rough season for Ja Morant. Injuries have kept him sidelined for nearly half the season. He’s not getting to the rim as much as he used to and not finishing in the paint with the same efficiency as he once did. Morant doesn’t get to the free throw line like he did as an All-Star. Then the team fires the only coach he has ever had in the NBA. Finally, he’s making headlines and getting a warning from the league about his finger gun celebrations.
Thursday night he got a little bit of redemption with a vintage move in the paint to create space, and then Morant drained the game winner to give Memphis a critical road win in the playoff chase over the Miami Heat, 110-108.
JA WINS IT FOR THE GRIZZLIES AT THE BUZZER 🚨🔥#TissotBuzzerBeater #YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness pic.twitter.com/wK40AWOTmi
— NBA (@NBA) April 4, 2025
Morant finished with a team-high 30 points and drained three 3-pointers — then celebrated them with the finger guns celebration the league had warned him about. Postgame, Morant shrugged it off (quote via the Associated Press);
“I was pretty much a villain for two years now. Every little thing, if somebody can say something negative about me, it’s going to be out there,” Morant said."So, yeah. I don’t care no more.”
Morant started slowly this season and in this game — Morant had three points at the half. In the second half, Morant scored 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
The win has the Grizzlies in a tie with Memphis for the 6/7 seeds in the West — but Memphis will need more big nights from Morant. Just one game separates seeds 5-8 in the West, and 2.5 games separate seeds 3-8. The Grizzlies will need more wins.
Desmond Bane and Scotty Pippen Jr. each added 17 points for the Grizzlies. Tyler Herro had a big night with 35 points for Miami, while Bam Adebayo added 26.
