Ja Morant focuses on bringing fun back to Memphis in home debut،
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ja Morant pushed the ball in transition and delivered a nice lob pass over the defense, setting up a dunk that caused an Indiana Pacers timeout. Morant celebrated by jumping onto the court, soaking in the adulation of the sold-out crowd at FedExForum for his highly anticipated and delayed home debut, then headed toward the Memphis Grizzlies huddle to deliver a message.
“We’re back to have fun,” Morant shouted to his teammates.
It was a miserable first two months of the season in Memphis, as Morant served a 25-game suspension and the injury-ravaged Grizzlies struggled to a 6-19 record without him. Morant is back, and so is the joy that comes with victory.
“The hardest part was not being able to be out there and enjoy and have fun with my guys, but now that I'm out there I'm making sure we all have fun no matter what.” , Morant said after a 116-103 victory over the Pacers on Thursday night. “So that was pretty much just my message. You could just see it in the energy of the team. We catch a lob, the bench goes crazy, players are screaming, screaming, hitting each other. is our type of “This is how we are. This is the team we are, the people we are. “
The win served as a celebration of the star's return, two nights after Morant capped a 34-point performance in a comeback road win over the New Orleans Pelicans by making the game-winning buzzer-beater. of her career.
Fans staged a parade outside the arena hours before kickoff. The atmosphere inside was as electric as expected. It was only the fourth full house of the season for the Grizzlies, who were 1-11 in home games when Morant was suspended for brandishing a gun on an Instagram Live video in May. its second such incident in two months. In the field seats were several prominent figures from the local rap scene, such as Moneybagg Yo, GloRilla, Key Glock and Sett, which is a telltale sign of a big game atmosphere in Memphis.
“It was awesome to feel that,” said Grizzlies shooting guard Desmond Bane, who had 31 points and a team-high seven assists. “We've had several home games that weren't like that this season. Obviously, Ja's return, everyone's super excited.”
Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr. joked that it was nice to see the traffic on the way to the arena.
“It was awesome,” said Jackson, who had 21 points. “Courtside was great. It looked good.”
Morant finished with 20 points and a team-high eight assists. The Grizzlies' main trio of Morant, Bane and Jackson scored more than 20 points each in the two games they played together this season, something they had accomplished only four times in three seasons previous ones where they played together. Memphis is 6-0 in these games.
The Grizzlies stars got off to a hot start, starting with Morant's layup on the game's opening possession, much to the delight of the crowd. The trio combined for 30 of Memphis' 35 points in the first quarter as the Grizzlies built a double-digit lead that grew to 23 during the second quarter.
The Pacers cut the lead to two at halftime and took the lead early in the third quarter, but the Grizzlies regained control. Morant's layup on the first possession of the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 11 points, and Memphis held a double-digit lead the rest of the game against an Indiana team playing in the second night in a row.
The Grizzlies, now 8-19, understand they have a lot of work to do to have any hope of salvaging a season that started so poorly. However, Morant makes it a priority to emphasize the successful stops on the journey – so much so that he briefly kicked coach Taylor Jenkins out of the locker room after the win for lack of enthusiasm.
“He came in clapping,” Morant said. “You have to come out shouting after a victory. We have to celebrate.”
For most of the season, there wasn't much to celebrate in Memphis. That changed with Morant's return this week.
“You have to play the game with a lot of joy,” Bane said. “And when you lose and you go down, sometimes it's hard to find that spirit and that swag. But no matter what, win, lose, go up, go down, you have to have that fire and that fight. And I think we 'have now.”
