NBA Recap: Ja Morant’s late baskets catapult the Grizzlies past the Wolves

NBA Recap: Ja Morant’s late baskets catapult the Grizzlies past the Wolves

NBA: Memphis Grizzlies at Minnesota TimberwolvesJanuary 11, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) and guard Ja Morant (12) celebrate after defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Mandatory attribution: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Ja Morant scored back-to-back baskets in the final minute to give the Memphis Grizzlies a 127-125 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

Morant finished the game with 12 points on just 5-for-19 shooting, but came on when it mattered most for Memphis, which won the opener of a four-game road trip. Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 33 points and eight rebounds, and Desmond Bane scored 21 points.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves, whose three-game winning streak ended. Jaden McDaniels finished with 21 points, Naz Reid added 19 points off the bench and Julius Randle had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Grizzlies trailed 125-121 after Rudy Gobert made a layup for the Timberwolves with 1:41 to play. Those were Minnesota’s last points.

Heat 119, Trail Blazers 98

Tyler Herro made seven 3-pointers and recorded 32 points, five rebounds and five assists to lead Miami to victory over host Portland.

Nikola Jovic added a season-high 21 points and eight rebounds as the Heat won their third straight game, all on the road. Haywood Highsmith added 14 points and matched his career-high five steals, Bam Adebayo had 13 points, 11 boards and six assists and Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each had 11 points for Miami.

Anfernee Simons had 28 points, thanks in large part to seven 3-pointers, and Shaedon Sharpe added 22 points for Portland, which lost for the fifth time in seven games. Deni Avdija added 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Suns 114, Jazz 106

Devin Booker matched his season high with six 3-pointers and scored 34 points, Kevin Durant added 25 points and Phoenix never trailed in a win over Utah.

Utah rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second quarter to trail 91-88 with 8:36 left in the contest before Phoenix took control with an 11-0 run.

Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 24 points. Collin Sexton scored 20 points and Walker Kessler contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Pistons 123, Raptors 114

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 27 points and host Detroit held off Toronto.

Hardaway made all but one of his eight 3-point attempts. Cade Cunningham posted a triple-double with 22 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds as the Pistons won for the sixth time in seven games. Malik Beasley had 18 points off the bench while Tobias Harris added 17 points and seven rebounds in the win.

Immanuel Quickley led seven Raptors in double figures with 25 points. Scottie Barnes had 16 points and 12 rebounds, while reserves Bruce Brown and Chris Boucher each contributed 14 points. Toronto has lost five straight.

–Field level media

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *