A 38-point, 4-assist effort courtesy of All-Star guard Ja Morant has led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 135-129 win over the San Antonio Spurs to extend their win streak to eight and take sole possession of the Western Conference’s one-seed, albeit for only a few hours.
Morant hit on 14 of his 25 field goal attempts and went 3-of-5 from three as Memphis improved to 28-13 on the year.
The win put them half-a-game ahead of Denver in the standings, however, their lead lasted mere hours before Nikola Jokić powered the Nuggets – who lead the season series 1-0 – to a dominant win over a shorthanded Suns outfit.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks for the Grizzlies on 6-of-10 shooting whilst Desmond Bane put up 18 points and six rebounds and hit 4-of-5 from deep.
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Tyus Jones poured in 16 points and three assists and was a team-high plus-15 in 18 minutes off the bench whilst Steven Adams added 11 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and three blocks, joining Pau Gasol as the only players in Grizzlies history to put up that stat-line.
The first quarter belonged to the Spurs before Memphis hit on six of their nine three-point attempts in the second stanza to outscore San Antonio 44-25 and take a 14-point lead into halftime.
The Grizzlies lead ballooned to 19 in the third quarter before a fourth-quarter San Antonio fightback saw the lead dwindle down to four in the final minute before Morant iced it for the home team.
Memphis were plus-nine on the boards and hit on an absurd 14 of their 22 three-point attempts.
San Antonio’s ball movement – 33 assists on 50 made shots – and paint points – 70 to Memphis’ 68 – kept them attached late in the piece, however, their shooting numbers and inability to guard their opposing shooters proved the difference.
With Devin Vassell out, Keldon Johnson led the way for the Spurs with 24 points on 6-of-17 shooting whilst Tre Jones – playing against older brother Tyus for the seventh time – finished with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Jakob Poeltl, meanwhile, put up 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks whilst Zach Collins had 14 points, 12 rebounds and four assists off the bench.
Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott combined for 27 points on 5-of-10 from three off the bench.
The Spurs’ next game is on Saturday at the 64,000-seat Alamodome against the defending champion Warriors to celebrate their 50th year in San Antonio.
It will be the first game played at the Alamodome since Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Semis.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, face the Pacers in Indianapolis on Sunday.
