After being suspended, Ja Morant comes back and scores 34 points. At the last second, he makes the game-winning shot to help the Grizzlies beat the Pelicans.

After being suspended, Ja Morant comes back and scores 34 points. At the last second, he makes the game-winning shot to help the Grizzlies beat the Pelicans.

In his first game of the season, Morant scored 34 points and set up the game-winning jumper with a spinning dribble within the lane with seconds left on the clock. The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Pelicans of New Orleans, 115–113.

The Grizzlies came in having lost five straight games and was 6-19 during Morant’s 25-game ban for his gun-related actions on social media.

They were behind by 24 points in the first half, but Morant’s inside basket via 1:22 left gave them the lead 113–111.

The Pelicans tied it up, and both teams missed 3-point shots before Morant sealed the deal at the buzzer.

He and his friends celebrated under the basket, which stunned a lot of people in the crowd. Morant said, “Man, I’ve been working hard.” It’s been eight months since I last played a game.

I had a lot of occasion to learn on my own. I went through a lot of hard days. You see, basketball is my life. I love it, and it helps me feel better. I’m glad to be back.

Morant’s two-time All-Star coach, Taylor Jenkins, planned the game-winning play and said it was “a special play for a special player.”

Morant scored the most points in NBA history by a player who had been out for at least 25 games.

“He could do anything he wanted,” Zion Williamson, forward for the Pelicans, said. “Ja was able to go down a wide path. The rest of them could play because he did that.

The Pelicans had won four straight games before Memphis beat them. Desmond Bane scored 21 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 24.

Brandon Ingram got 34 points in behalf of New Orleans, however Williamson could only play for 24 minutes because he kept getting fouls. He only scored 13 points in that time.

“BI was awesome. “He made plays for his own benefit and his teammates, and he made basket after basket,” said Willie Green, the coach of the Pelicans. We just didn’t do enough, which is too bad.

Supportive Pelicans fans booed Morant loudly during the pregame speeches and when he touched the ball for the first time. Jensen said, “All I wanted was over him to have fun.”

The boos stopped as the game went on, but some traveling fans nearby the Memphis bench made their voices heard when Morant scored eight points in 1:20 early in the third quarter, including two tough driving shots while being fouled.

Jayden Daniels, the winner of the LSU Heisman Trophy as quarterback, was there to watch Morant’s return. He sat in the top row next to Malik Nabers, the star receiver for the Tigers.

Morant didn’t make many jump shots and sometimes looked tired, but he still looked like he could drive into paint and finish.

He could do finger rolls, crossover dribbles for putting up high floaters in the lane, and double-pump bank jumpers while hanging in the air.

Morant didn’t make many jump shots and sometimes looked tired, but he still looked like he could drive into the coating and finish.

He could do finger rolls, crossover drips to set up high floaters in the lane, and double-pump bank shots whilst hanging in the air.

An 11-0 run that started near the end of the first half and went into the third quarter helped Memphis get back into the game. At 60-47, Memphis was ahead. “That’s how you’ll want Ja to play—fast and free, using her quick moves.”

Soon after, Morant made a shot off the rim while Herb Jones fouled him. He then turned a spinning dribble within the lane into a layup while Jones fouled him again, cutting the lead to 69–62.

The Pelicans tied it up, and both teams missed 3-point shots before Morant sealed the deal at the buzzer. He and his friends celebrated under the basket, which stunned a lot of people in the crowd.