Ja Morant had the dream comeback. After serving a 25-game suspension for appearing with a weapon in a video on social networks, the point guard scored 34 points, including a decisive basket at the buzzer, to give the Memphis Grizzlies the victory (115-113) on the court. the New Orleans Pelicans.
Morant had 34 points, six rebounds and eight assists and led an epic comeback for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 24 points in the second period. His 34 points set a new NBA record for a player returning after an absence of 25 or more games.
A starter in Taylor Jenkins' quintet, Morant scored 27 of his 34 points in the second half and thirteen of them in a monumental fourth quarter, in which he pushed the Pelicans' defense to the limit with his agility, speed and acrobatic plays. .
He won the game for the Grizzlies with a wonderful play against Herbert Jones, with a reverse in the paint and connecting the shot at the buzzer. That was the icing on the cake of an outstanding performance. He missed the court and, although his last game was at the end of April, he returned with astonishing brilliance.
For the Grizzlies, Spanish Santi Aldama contributed eight points, all in the first period. Jaren Jackson scored 24 points and Desmond Bane had 21.
With 9.6 seconds left and tied 113-113, the Grizzlies called a timeout to draw the play. The ball went to Morant, who faced Jones, turned around in the paint, and sealed the winning basket to certify a dream comeback for him and the Grizzlies.
On June 16, the NBA announced a 25-game suspension without pay to Ja Morant for "conduct detrimental" to the basketball league after posing with a firearm in a live video broadcast on May 13.
Morant had previously been punished with an eight-game suspension for another similar action on March 4 when he also displayed a firearm at a Denver club.
The NBA ordered Morant to meet "certain conditions," including taking part in a program "that directly responds to the circumstances that have led him to repeat this destructive behavior."
