Morant hurts his shoulder but Jackson scores 33 as the Grizzlies top the Pelicans 132-124
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 33 points, Ja Morant scored 25 before leaving with what appeared to be a minor right shoulder injury, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the slumping New Orleans Pelicans 132-124 on Friday night.
Morant was knocked from the game when he was flattened by Pelicans center Daniel Theis' hard but legal screen.
The Grizzlies never ruled Morant out of the game, classifying him as doubtful after he went to the locker room to be examined. He returned to the bench and cheered on his team from there.
Jackson held the Pelicans at bay, with help from Desmond Bane, who finished with 18 points, and Scottie Pippen Jr., who scored 13 points. Zach Edey added 14 points.
Trey Murphy III scored 35 points and CJ McCollum 32 for the Pelicans, who've lost nine straight and 18 of 19. Theis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Grizzlies: One night after scoring a franchise record 155 points in a victory over Toronto, Memphis eclipsed the 130-point mark despite Morant scoring just a single point in the second half.
Pelicans: After being run off their own court in a 128-111 loss to Houston a night earlier, New Orleans looked more feisty and competitive, but lacked the firepower to keep pace, falling to 0-14 in games missed by injured wing Brandon Ingram and 3-23 in games without injured power forward Zion Williamson.
The Pelicans were threatening to cut what had been a 22-point deficit to six in the third quarter when Jackson intercepted Murphy's pass. That sparked an 8-0 Grizzlies run, highlighted by Jackson’s driving floater and Luke Kennard’s 3.
The Grizzlies went 17 of 41 (41.5%) from 3-point range, while New Orleans was 11 of 38 (28.9%).
The Grizzlies visit Oklahoma City on Sunday night. The Pelicans host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Zach Edey vs. Yves Missi (Ja Morant gains possession) | ||
| 11:48 |  | +2 | Zach Edey makes two point cutting dunk (Ja Morant assists) | 2-0 |
| 11:25 | | Herbert Jones misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:24 | | Zach Edey defensive rebound | ||
| 11:13 | | Yves Missi shooting foul (Desmond Bane draws the foul) | ||
| 11:13 | | +1 | Desmond Bane makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 3-0 |
| 11:13 | | +1 | Desmond Bane makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 4-0 |
| 10:55 | | Zach Edey blocks Dejounte Murray's two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 10:54 | | Pelicans offensive rebound | ||
| 10:50 | | Yves Missi misses two point driving bank hook shot | ||
| 10:49 | | Jaren Jackson Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 10:36 | | +2 | Jaren Jackson Jr. makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Desmond Bane assists) | 6-0 |
| 10:25 | | +2 | CJ McCollum makes two point pullup jump shot | 6-2 |
| 10:09 | | CJ McCollum shooting foul (Zach Edey draws the foul) | ||
| 10:09 | | +1 | Zach Edey makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 7-2 |
| 10:09 | | +1 | Zach Edey makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 8-2 |
| 9:58 | | +2 | Dejounte Murray makes two point pullup jump shot | 8-4 |
| 9:44 | | +2 | Desmond Bane makes two point jump shot (Jaren Jackson Jr. assists) | 10-4 |
| 9:29 | | Dejounte Murray misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 9:26 | | Ja Morant defensive rebound | ||
| 9:16 | | +2 | Zach Edey makes two point turnaround hook shot (Ja Morant assists) | 12-4 |
| 9:06 | | Dejounte Murray turnover (bad pass) (Zach Edey steals) | ||
| 9:03 | | Dejounte Murray blocks Jaylen Wells's two point running layup | ||
| 9:00 | | Herbert Jones defensive rebound | ||
| 8:57 | | Ja Morant shooting foul (CJ McCollum draws the foul) | ||
| 8:57 | | +1 | CJ McCollum makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 12-5 |
| 8:57 | | +1 | CJ McCollum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 12-6 |
| 8:48 | | +2 | Ja Morant makes two point driving floating jump shot | 14-6 |
| 8:39 | | Dejounte Murray misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 8:37 | | Herbert Jones offensive rebound | ||
| 8:30 | | +2 | Trey Murphy III makes two point driving floating jump shot (Herbert Jones assists) | 14-8 |
| 8:18 | | Zach Edey misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:15 | | Dejounte Murray defensive rebound | ||
| 8:08 | | Yves Missi turnover (lost ball) (Desmond Bane steals) | ||
| 8:03 | | Desmond Bane misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:00 | | CJ McCollum defensive rebound | ||
| 7:50 | | CJ McCollum misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 7:49 | | Herbert Jones offensive rebound | ||
| 7:44 | | Yves Missi turnover (bad pass) (Ja Morant steals) | ||
| 7:35 | | Herbert Jones personal foul (Zach Edey draws the foul) | ||
| 7:25 | | Jaylen Wells misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:21 | | Herbert Jones defensive rebound | ||
| 7:13 | | Zach Edey blocks Yves Missi's two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 7:12 | | Ja Morant defensive rebound | ||
| 7:07 | | Ja Morant misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 7:03 | | CJ McCollum defensive rebound | ||
| 6:58 | | Dejounte Murray turnover (lost ball) (Jaren Jackson Jr. steals) | ||
| 6:54 | | Herbert Jones shooting foul (Ja Morant draws the foul) | ||
| 6:54 | | Pelicans 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:54 | | +1 | Ja Morant makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 15-8 |
| 6:54 | | +1 | Ja Morant makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-8 |
| 6:35 | | +3 | Trey Murphy III makes three point jump shot (CJ McCollum assists) | 16-11 |
| 6:24 | | +2 | Ja Morant makes two point driving finger roll layup | 18-11 |
| 6:15 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:11 | | Zach Edey defensive rebound | ||
| 6:08 | | Jaren Jackson Jr. misses two point turnaround bank jump shot | ||
| 6:07 | | Yves Missi defensive rebound | ||
| 5:58 | | CJ McCollum misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 5:56 | | Desmond Bane defensive rebound | ||
| 5:49 | | Jaylen Wells misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:46 | | Yves Missi defensive rebound | ||
| 5:35 | | Yves Missi misses two point driving bank hook shot | ||
| 5:32 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl offensive rebound | ||
| 5:28 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:28 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl offensive rebound | ||
| 5:21 | | +2 | Dejounte Murray makes two point driving reverse layup (Trey Murphy III assists) | 18-13 |
| 4:54 | | +2 | Ja Morant makes two point driving finger roll layup | 20-13 |
| 4:54 | | CJ McCollum shooting foul (Ja Morant draws the foul) | ||
| 4:54 | | +1 | Ja Morant makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 21-13 |
| 4:38 | | +2 | Yves Missi makes two point alley-oop dunk (Dejounte Murray assists) | 21-15 |
| 4:29 | | Jake LaRavia turnover (bad pass) (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl steals) | ||
| 4:24 | | +2 | Dejounte Murray makes two point running dunk (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl assists) | 21-17 |
| 4:24 | | Grizzlies 60 second timeout | ||
| 4:04 | | Jay Huff misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:00 | | Dejounte Murray defensive rebound | ||
| 3:47 | | Trey Murphy III misses two point driving layup | ||
| 3:44 | | Jake LaRavia defensive rebound | ||
| 3:30 | | Jake LaRavia turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 3:21 | | Jordan Hawkins misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 3:19 | | Brandon Clarke defensive rebound | ||
| 3:14 | | +3 | Jay Huff makes three point running jump shot (Scotty Pippen Jr. assists) | 24-17 |
| 2:57 | | Trey Murphy III misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 2:54 | | Dejounte Murray offensive rebound | ||
| 2:53 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:51 | | Luke Kennard defensive rebound | ||
| 2:48 | | Scotty Pippen Jr. misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 2:47 | | Grizzlies offensive rebound | ||
| 2:43 | | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl personal foul (Loose ball) (Jay Huff draws the foul) | ||
| 2:43 | | +1 | Jay Huff makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-17 |
| 2:43 | | +1 | Jay Huff makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 26-17 |
| 2:29 | | Dejounte Murray misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 2:26 | | Jay Huff defensive rebound | ||
| 2:15 | | +3 | Luke Kennard makes three point jump shot (Scotty Pippen Jr. assists) | 29-17 |
| 2:00 | | +2 | Jordan Hawkins makes two point stepback jump shot | 29-19 |
| 1:47 | | +3 | Luke Kennard makes three point jump shot (Scotty Pippen Jr. assists) | 32-19 |
| 1:34 | | Dejounte Murray misses two point reverse layup | ||
| 1:32 | | Scotty Pippen Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 1:25 | | Scotty Pippen Jr. turnover (bad pass) (Dejounte Murray steals) | ||
| 1:22 | | +2 | Trey Murphy III makes two point running dunk (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl assists) | 32-21 |
| 1:09 | | Daniel Theis blocks Jake LaRavia's two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 1:08 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 1:04 | | Jordan Hawkins misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:03 | | Brandon Clarke defensive rebound | ||
| 0:57 | | Scotty Pippen Jr. misses two point running finger roll layup | ||
| 0:55 | | Jordan Hawkins defensive rebound | ||
| 0:50 | | +2 | Daniel Theis makes two point running dunk (Trey Murphy III assists) | 32-23 |
| 0:27 | | Luke Kennard misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 0:25 | | Trey Murphy III defensive rebound | ||
| 0:02 | | +2 | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl makes two point layup (Daniel Theis assists) | 32-25 |
| 0:00 | | End of period |