On Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Memphis Grizzlies (29-13) won their ninth straight game, 130-112 over the Indiana Pacers (23-21). The Grizzlies have the longest active win streak in the league.
“That may very well be the best team on the planet right now – they’re very hard to play,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. However, almost no one is talking about the win itself. That’s because almost everyone is talking about Ja Morant’s vicious dunk over Jalen Smith.
Morant has become most definitely must-see TV! People will be discussing that dunk for years to come — until he does one to top it. The dunk has garnered millions of views across social media platforms.
When asked if it was the best dunk of his career, Morant said, “Yeah, easy,” because of its difficulty. “It’s what everybody’s been waiting for — I finally made it this time.”
Morant went on to describe the highlight play, he said, “Basically I left the other defender pretty much at the three-point line and it was just me into my launchpad, went up seeing him come over [to] try to block it. I went for a normal Ja dunk attempt and this time I made it.”
Morant finished with 23 points on 7-of-17 shooting with 10 assists and three rebounds.
It must be the shoes, as Morant alluded to after the game.
The Murray State alum also had a clear message after the game.
Teammate Desmond Bane said, “I ain’t seen nothing like that one. That’s probably going to go down as dunk of the year.” Bane finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, while connecting on 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.
Bally Sports Grizzlies sideline reporter Rob Fischer discussed his reaction to the dunk, “He’s like watching NBA Jam in real life. The kid’s got rocket boosters under them Ja1’s.” Brevin Knight, Bally Sports Grizzlies color analyst said, “My reaction today is speechless. He’s spectacular.”
I think we are all Knight after witnessing that dunk.
“That was the dunk, as Ja said, that people had been waiting for – the elevation, cock of the arm and power of the smash. It had the entire building buzzing – both Pacer and Grizzlies fans, said Pete Pranica, Bally Sports Grizzlies play-by-play announcer. Pranica added, “I wish Indiana had called timeout so we could have really savored it, but the game goes on.”
“I mean, high level play for sure,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins on Morant’s dunk. “They had been blitzing him. They had been up, he was just navigating little cracks and seams to get downhill. And then that one, the takeoff spot to where the defender was right at the rim. It was really impressive. That’s a hard finish. … Obviously, that was an emphatic play for us.
When asked if he taught Morant that move, Jenkins said jokingly, “Oh, everything of course. No, that’s his God-given ability. That’s great execution and that’s picking your spots to be aggressive.”
Former NBA great Kevin Garnett praised Morant on Twitter.
The dunk wasn’t the only highlight play from Morant on Saturday, there was an awesome block too.
It was called a goal tend but was overturned after a coach’s challenge.
Up Next
The Grizzlies will host the Phoenix Suns in the 21st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Game on Monday. The game will broadcast regionally on Bally Sports Southeast and nationally on TNT. Tip-off it at 5 p.m. CT.
The Grizzlies will look to win their 10th straight game. With a win over the Suns, it will be just the second double-digit winning streak (within a single season) in franchise history. Memphis set a club record last season with an 11-game winning streak from Dec. 26, 2021-Jan. 13, 2022. Memphis might be without Morant, as he’s listed as questionable with left hip soreness.
