Ja Morant wasted no time reminding the NBA he remains one of the league’s premier players.
Now the question will be: Can the two-time Memphis Grizzlies NBA All-Star somehow avoid injuries that have limited him this season as they have in his recent past?
He’ll have a chance to prove that Wednesday as Memphis will return to the U.S. to play host to the Atlanta Hawks.
Sunday against the Orlando Magic in London, Morant returned after missing six consecutive games with a right calf contusion. He had missed the opening game in the European swing — a 118-111 loss to the Magic in Berlin — but was electrifying Sunday, taking control of the game in the opening five minutes and never taking his foot off the momentum pedal.
Behind Morant’s direction, the Grizzlies built a 33-point second quarter lead. Orlando never got closer than 16 points the rest of the game.
Morant finished with 24 points and a season-high 13 assists and played with the youthful enthusiasm that had been missing and that has made him one of the faces of the NBA.
“The energy was contagious,” Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “He did a great job quarterbacking the team and setting up other guys for success early in the game, pushing the pace, sharing the ball. It then snowballed into a great team effort.
“It gives the group a ton of confidence to have him back. … Ja has been one of those guys who has carried the energy (in practice.) He’s been very good. I’m super happy to see him out there.”
While reports surfaced last week the Grizzlies are entertaining offers for Morant, the point guard reminded those in London that Memphis is his first choice.
“Anybody in here who knows me knows that I’m a very loyal guy,” Morant said. “I got a logo (a Grizzlies tattoo from 2023) on my back, so that should tell you exactly where I want to be.”
Morant scored 20 or more points in a game for the first time since Dec. 30. He was playing for the first time since Jan. 2.
“Just to be able to play basketball is very therapeutic for me,” Morant said. “I know what I’m capable of out there on the court, and I was able to show that tonight and receive the love from people I’ve seen for the first time. It was big time, walking off and representing Memphis is what it is all about.”
As for the Atlanta Hawks, they will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak. The Hawks fell 112-110 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. Nickeil Alexander-Walker drained a 3-pointer with 12.6 seconds left to trim the Bucks advantage to one, but Milwaukee’s CJ McCollum was unable to get off a clean shot at the buzzer.
“Those are situations that you work on in practice,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “It was one of the ones we had touched. I really trust CJ with the ball. Thought we got it into a position where he was going to get one, he was going to kick it out and the ball just got tipped.”
The Hawks will try to end the losing streak by playing on the road, where they are 13-12 this season.
“One thing that I did learn and could feel (against Milwaukee) was despite the shots going in or going out, or whatever the game was really giving us, our energy and mentality towards it will change everything,” Alexander-Walker said.
