Ja Morant may not win the MVP award this season, but that doesn’t mean that he is not the most exciting player in the NBA by a wide margin.
The league’s greatest attraction sparked a huge Memphis fourth-quarter comeback scoring 15 of his game-high 37 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 118-114 victory to beat the New York Knicks on Friday night.
With less than four minutes left in the game, Morant went on a personal 10-0 run to turn a 106-105 deficit into a comfortable 115-108 lead with a minute left in the game. Morant’s numbers stacked up well against Knicks forward Julius Randle’s 36 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. But after the match, Morant wanted to shine the light on his teammate, Jaren Jackson Jr.
“Jaren is what everybody needs to be excited about,” Morant said about Jackson’s defensive dominance via ESPN. “His defensive presence was big for us. We’re a totally different team with him out there on the floor. He sparked us.”
5️⃣ BLOCKS FOR THE B1OCK PANTH3R@jarenjacksonjr | #GrindCity pic.twitter.com/cwfZDU7oqn
— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) March 12, 2022
Jackson finished with 13 points, but it was his season-high five blocks for Memphis supported Morant’s scoring explosion. Jackson had three blocks during a critical stretch during the Grizzlies’ 31-18 run in the fourth quarter to finish the comeback.
JAREN JACKSON JR.
— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2022
BIG-TIME DENIAL.
From down 15.. MEM down 1 on @NBATV pic.twitter.com/elmvIKjcS1
The New York Knicks was held to only 18 points in the quarter, shooting 27 percent, including forcing the Knicks to miss four out of their five attempts from the three-point line.
Memphis goes on the road to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
