The Angels. Ja Morant made a brilliant return to the NBA after a 25-game suspension, hitting a game-winning layup as time expired as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-113.
The basket capped a 34-point, eight-assist, six-rebound performance by Morant, who was suspended by the league for the first 25 games of the season after a pair of social media posts in which he displayed weapons.
“I’m human,” he said after overcoming the fatigue at the end of the duel. “I haven’t played a game in eight months. I had a lot of time, a lot of hard days where I went through that. But you know, basketball is my life, it’s what I love and I’m excited to get back.”
The Pelicans, led by 34 points from Brandon Ingram, took control of the game with a great second quarter that featured a 23-0 scoring run and saw them up 60-41 at halftime. But the Grizzlies fought back in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter.
With the score tied 113-113, the player grabbed the rebound from a miss by CJ McCollum and, after a pause, got into the line to score the winning double.
In another clash, Damian Lillard scored a season-high 40 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 132-119 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Lillard became the 51st NBA player to reach 20,000 points.
2023-12-20 05:10:41
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