Ja Morant and Desmond Bane each dropped 38 points as the Grizzlies cruised to a 134-124 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Memphis to improve to 3-1 on the year.
Morant finished with 38 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on 12-of-22 from the field as his stellar start to the season continued whilst Bane put up a career-high 38 points and seven assists hitting on eight of his 11 three-point attempts.
Also for Memphis, Santi Aldama finished with 17 points and four rebounds whilst Brandon Clarke added 13 points on 4-of-5 from the field off the bench.
Steven Adams finished with nine points and 13 rebounds and was a team-high plus-20.
Morant capped the win off with a deep three over the outstretched arm of Kyrie Irving in the final minute to send the Memphis crowd into a frenzy.
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Both teams battled through a back-and-forth first half before the Grizzlies leapt out to a 15-point third-quarter lead which they held onto for the remainder of the night.
Brooklyn hit on just nine of their 29 three-point attempts and struggled to defend without fouling as Memphis handed them their second loss of the year.
Kevin Durant put up 37 points on an efficient 14-of-20 from the floor whilst Irving added 37 of his own to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.
Nic Claxton was the only other Net to finish in double figures with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Ben Simmons lasted just 28 minutes before fouling out; he finished with seven points on 2-of-5 from the field, three rebounds and eight assists.
With T.J. Warren and Seth Curry both yet to make their season debuts, Brooklyn’s depth has been tested.
Despite Durant and Irving putting together big-time displays, the Nets were unable to trouble the Grizzlies largely due to their non-existent defence, particularly in the third quarter where Memphis dropped a remarkable 45 points.
The Nets have given up an average of 123 points per game across their first three outings of the season – a mark that needs to improve if they plan on competing with Eastern Conference heavyweights.
The Grizzlies, who have also struggled defensively in the absence of Jaren Jackson Jr., have scored 115-plus points in each of their three wins as Morant looks set to make yet another leap a year on from winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
Memphis will kick off a four-game road stint in Sacramento on Friday whilst the Nets will travel to Milwaukee to meet with the Bucks on Thursday.
