Morant scores 21 in return, but Grizzlies fall 130-126 to Jazz
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant was back on the floor Friday night after a 10-game absence with a strained right calf, finishing with 21 points and 10 assists, yet the Memphis Grizzlies could not hold off the Utah Jazz in a 130-126 defeat.
The seventh-year guard played just over 25 minutes, shooting 7-for-20 and committing four turnovers. “Some of them I should have been at the free-throw line. Some I missed. Some I made,” Morant said when asked about any rust. “I can’t change it. I just have to live with it.”
Morant entered the matchup averaging 17.9 points and 7.6 assists through 12 appearances this season, well below his career scoring mark of 22.4. Memphis went 7-3 while he was sidelined, the club’s best stretch without him this year. He had previously missed one game with right ankle soreness and served a one-game team suspension for criticizing the coaching staff.
After the loss, Morant pointed to rebounding and bench production as decisive factors. “We should have won,” he said. “Played soft. They outrebounded us. We let guys come off the bench and make a difference. I’ve got to be better… take care of the ball, make shots. I’ll correct mine, and we’ll correct ours together.”
The 6-foot-2 guard, selected second overall in the 2019 draft, has spent his entire NBA career with the Grizzlies.
Source: ESPN
