10:54 PM ET
Associated Press
HOUSTON -- Ja Morant scored 49 points and deed 5 3-pointers to pb the Memphis Grizzlies to a 129-122 triumph implicit the Houston Rockets connected Friday night.
Morant carried the squad connected a nighttime Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones struggled. Bane made conscionable 3 of 16 shots for 14 points and Jones was 4-for-13 with 11 points.
The Rockets led by 16 successful the archetypal fractional earlier the Grizzlies utilized a large tally to commencement the 3rd 4th and instrumentality the lead.
Morant has 8 3-pointers successful conscionable 2 games this play aft averaging 1.5 3s a crippled past season. Memphis manager Taylor Jenkins was asked if anyone tin halt the young prima present that he's incorporated much 3-point shooting into his game.
"I don't deliberation so,'' helium said. "What a phenomenal crippled by Ja. Just successful onslaught mode passim the game.''
Houston manager Stephen Silas agreed.
"It's changes everything due to the fact that he's downhill,'' Silas said. "You person to grant the 3. When he's making his 3-point changeable he's very, precise hard to guard.''
A handbasket by Brandon Clarke enactment Memphis up by 2 points earlier Garrison Mathews and Jabari Smith Jr. made back-to-back 3-pointers to enactment Houston up 108-104 with astir 9 minutes to play.
Morant scored 5 points successful a 10-0 spurt that gave Memphis a 118-110 pb with six minutes left.
Houston made 5 points with a 3-pointer from Eric Gordon to get wrong 5 points with astir 2 minutes to go. But Morant made a leap changeable a fewer seconds aboriginal to widen the pb to 125-118.
Jalen Green, the 2nd prime successful the 2021 draft, led the Rockets with 33 points. But helium struggled aft halftime and scored conscionable 13 points successful the 2nd half. Alperen Sengun added 23 points for the Rockets, who fell to 0-2 this season.
Morant had different large crippled aft scoring 34 points successful the opener to pb Memphis to a 115-112 overtime triumph implicit the Knicks.
He made his archetypal 5 3-point attempts and didn't miss until helium threw up a changeable precocious successful the 4th fourth to debar a changeable timepiece violation.
He talked astir wherefore he's disconnected to specified a beardown commencement connected long-range shooting this season.
"Work,'' helium said. "Locking myself successful the gym. Just getting arsenic galore shots up arsenic I can. I've got to support it going, proceed to enactment adjacent though my shots are falling now.''
Houston led by 8 astatine halftime earlier the Grizzlies opened the 2nd fractional with an 18-9 tally to instrumentality an 80-79 pb with astir 8 minutes remaining successful the 3rd quarter.
Morant had 9 points successful that span and Bane capped it with a 3-pointer.
The Grizzlies remained up by 1 a mates of minutes aboriginal aft a dunk by Morant earlier Green made a 3-pointer to enactment Houston connected apical 87-85.
Houston trailed by 3 aboriginal successful the 3rd earlier scoring the past 8 points of the quarter, with a 3-point play by Tari Eason, to instrumentality a 100-95 pb into the fourth.
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