Ja Morant had 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first career triple-double to help the Memphis Grizzlies overcome poor 3-point shooting in a 106-99 victory over the Washington Wizards
WASHINGTON —
Ja Morant had 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his first career triple-double to help the Memphis Grizzlies overcome poor 3-point shooting in a 106-99 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday night.
Morant scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter for Memphis, which closed the game on a 22-8 run after trailing for most of the second half.
Kyle Anderson added 16 points and Jonas Jackson Jr. had 14 for the Grizzlies, who won despite shooting 5 of 32 from beyond the arc. Jonas Valanciunas had 18 rebounds.
Bradley Beal scored 26 points for Washington, which led by as many as 12 points early but shot 4 of 26 in the fourth quarter.
Rui Hachimura had 12 points and 11 assists in the Wizards’ third loss in their last 10 games at home. Moritz Wagner had 19 points off the bench, while Davis Bertans added 15.
Morant was the instigator throughout the Grizzlies’ late run. He found Anderson underneath for a layup to tie it at 93 with 5:33 remaining before hitting two free throws to give Memphis its first lead of the half 26 seconds later.
Clarke’s 3-pointer on his only attempt behind the arc stretched the lead to five before Morant found Anderson inside again to make it 102-95.
Morant’s 3 from the right elbow with made it 105-96 with 44 seconds remaining, sending much of the Washington crowd to the exits.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Missed their first seven 3-point attempts. … F/C Jordan Bell and C Gorgui Dieng were available, but did not play. Memphis picked up Bell from Houston and Dieng from Minnesota at the trade deadline.
Wizards: Traded from the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday, G Jerome Robinson’s first points since came on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave Washington its largest lead 30-18 at the end of the first quarter. … Hachimura’s double-double was the third of his career.
WAITERS WAIVED
The Grizzlies waived G Dion Waiters on Sunday, three days after acquiring him from Miami Heat in a three-team trade also involving Minnesota.
Waiters had been suspended three times by the Heat this season, including a 10-game ban following a drug-related incident on a team plane.
The Grizzlies also received F Justise Winslow from Miami and Dieng from Minnesota, while sending F Andre Iguodala, F Jae Crowder and F Solomon Hill to the Heat.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: host Portland on Wednesday.
Wizards: host Chicago on Tuesday.
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