Ja Morant stats tonight: Double whammy for Grizzlies as Morant's injury coincides with play-in game defeat against Steph Curry's Warriors (Apr. 15)
Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies suffered a 121-116 loss against Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors in a high-stakes play-in matchup at the Chase Center on Tuesday. Morant started alongside Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Scotty Pippen Jr. and Zach Edey.
Morant began the game strong, setting the tone early for the Grizzlies. However, his impact was limited later on after rolling his ankle, which clearly affected him physically. Despite having multiple opportunities to close out the contest, Memphis came up short, with a visibly hobbling Morant in the fourth quarter making things difficult for the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies point guard finished the game with 22 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal in 35 minutes. He shot 9 of 18 from the floor, including 1 of 3 from beyond the arc and 3 of 3 from the free throw line.
Ja Morant through 4 quarters
From the opening tip, Morant set the tone for Memphis with an aggressive approach on the offensive end. The two-time All-Star looked for his own shot early, and it paid off. He buried a 3-pointer and followed it up with two more baskets, prompting Warriors coach Steve Kerr to call an early timeout.
Ja Morant also did well facilitating the offense, creating quality looks for his teammates. However, the Grizzlies struggled to capitalize on some of those opportunities, most notably Zach Edey, who missed a couple of chances set up by Morant’s playmaking.
At the end of the first quarter, Ja Morant had seven points and one rebound. He shot 3 of 6 from the floor, including 1 of 2 from beyond the arc, in 8:49 minutes.
Morant maintained his aggressive scoring mindset in the second quarter, which proved crucial as the Warriors began to gain momentum and threatened to extend their lead to 20 points at one stage. The Grizzlies' star guard took seven more shots in the period, connecting on three of them to help keep Memphis within striking distance.
At halftime, Morant had 15 points on 6 of 13 shooting, including 1 of 3 from beyond the arc. He also recorded two rebounds and one assist in 17:51 minutes.
Morant gave the Grizzlies a major injury scare in the third quarter after rolling his right ankle and exiting the game in visible pain. Although he missed the latter stages of the penultimate period, he remained on the bench as the medical staff evaluated him. Despite the setback, the Grizzlies trailed the Warriors by just three points heading into the fourth quarter.
Ja Morant returned to the game in the fourth quarter, but it was clear he wasn’t moving at full strength as the ankle injury continued to affect him. Nevertheless, he battled through the pain and came up with several clutch plays, helping the Grizzlies close the gap to just one point with a little over four minutes remaining.
Despite Morant’s valiant effort, the Grizzlies ultimately fell short. They will now face the winner of the matchup between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks in a do-or-die game for the eighth and final playoff spot.