Basketball: Morant triple-double fuels Grizzlies to halt their losing run
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Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (right) scored 27 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out 15 assists against the Indiana Pacers.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES – Behind a second consecutive triple-double by Ja Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from 12 points down at half-time to snap a season-high five-game losing streak with a 112-100 home win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.
Morant scored 27 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out 15 assists at the FedExForum as the Grizzlies got back in the National Basketball Association win column and earned a 32-18 record to stay second in the Western Conference.
“We needed it. Obviously going through a terrible slump that we haven’t been in in years, dropping five games on the road. That’s not our identity. That’s not us,” Morant said.
The hangover from that disastrous trip was apparent in the Grizzlies’ sluggish start. They trailed by as many as 19 and were down 12 at half-time after Indiana’s reserves outscored the Grizzlies bench 30-5 in the first half.
Said Morant: “We had to lock in. We were playing with energy, but I thought we were giving up on some plays. They were scoring a little too easily. We had to turn it around.”
A 20-5 scoring run in the third quarter saw Memphis pull level. After the Pacers reeled off five straight points, the Grizzlies responded with an 18-6 run to grab a 12-point advantage, never trailing in the fourth quarter.
Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 27 points and eight rebounds. Aaron Nesmith tallied 16 points and five rebounds, while Myles Turner added 15 points and four boards. Isaiah Jackson (13 points) and Andrew Nembhard (12 points) were terrific off the bench for the Pacers (24-28).
“It’s hard to play away,” Mathurin said of the second-half collapse.
“They had momentum. The crowd got into it... We should have stayed locked in. Defence was pretty bad in the second half.”
His coach Rick Carlisle added: “Pretty clear that the first half was really excellent and exactly what we were trying to do, which was make it tough on them with solid defence... The second half, they were able to flip the whole thing.”
Jaren Jackson Jr added 28 points and five blocks for the Grizzlies, who are two games behind the Denver Nuggets at the top of the Western Conference. Xavier Tillman (nine points, 11 rebounds), David Roddy (11 points) and Tyus Jones (10 points) came up big off the bench for Memphis.
Jackson said: “We just accepted the challenge. We have to come out and compete every night. This is nothing new. We’re just glad to be back home and get a nice win.” AFP, REUTERS
