Ja Morant left it all on the floor after playing 43 minutes along with the entire second half against the Utah Jazz.
Morant’s performance on Wednesday night was nothing but spectacular. However, the 21-year-old isn’t satisfied with his record-breaking night after falling in Game 2 to the Jazz, 141-129.
He finished with 47 points on an incredibly efficient 15 of 26 from the field plus 15 of 20 from the charity stripe.
“It’s an honor to be able to do that. I’m blessed to be in the position that I’m in, be able to play the game at the highest level,” Morant said during the postgame media availability. “But that’s not on my mind at all. We lost, so obviously it wasn’t enough.”
Morant is getting whatever shot he wants as he drives through the lane off the dribble. The Jazz simply have no answer for Morant at this point.
Even though the Murray State alum wasn’t just satisfied with his elite performance, his teammates took notice. “I looked up and I saw he had 47!’” said forward Kyle Anderson after the Game 2 loss. “I was like, ‘Wow!’ That’s big time — we kind of knew the player he was, and we knew he’s highly capable of it. He’s just putting you guys on notice now. You guys are getting to see it.”
After the game Jaren Jackson Jr. was proud of Morant’s playing. I’m happy for him,” Jackson proclaimed. “That’s a good feeling, something he’s going to remember forever.”
Not only will Morant remember, but the entire NBA will never forget his coming out party on the big stage. The second year guard is in elite company.
“It’s obviously an amazing feat in his early career,” said Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins. “But I know all he will talk about is how he can’t wait to come back and get a win. That’s his focus. He’s all driven to win.”
Donovan Mitchell had to give Morant his props. “Honestly, it’s not that surprising,” Mitchell said. “He’s a gamer. He goes out there and competes — tonight, he was aggressive from the jump. At a young age, for him to be able to have that is definitely special. That’s something that I respect about him and about his game. He doesn’t quit.”
The old saying goes, “There’s no quit in the Grit.”
The Jazz evened the series but the night belonged to Morant who elevated his status as a bonafide superstar in Memphis who will back down to no one.
Grizzlies fans, the team’s future is bright with Morant as the cornerstone.
Run It Back
The series shifts to Memphis at the Grindhouse where towels will be waving from more that 10,000 fans as the capacity increased to 55 percent.
Memphis has a chance to go up 2-1 on Saturday night. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. CT.
