Ja Morant ended his regrettable absence from professional basketball with a comeback for the ages.
Morant capped a stirring, 34-point season debut with a spinning dribble in the lane to set up a game-winning floater as time expired in the Memphis Grizzlies’ 115-113 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
The Grizzlies, who entered on a five-game skid and were 6-19 during Morant’s 25-game suspension for his social media antics with guns, trailed by 24 in the first half but took a 113-111 lead on Morant’s inside basket with 1:22 to go.
The Pelicans tied it and the teams exchanged missed 3-pointers before Morant finished it off at the horn, leaving much of the crowd stunned as he and his teammates celebrated under the basket.
“I’ve been putting work in, man,” Morant said. “I ain’t play a game in eight months. Had a lot of time to learn myself. A lot of hard days where I went through it. But you know, basketball is my life — what I love, therapeutic for me. And I’m just excited to be back.”
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins designed the winning play for Morant and called the two-time All-Star’s execution of it, “a special play by a special player.”
Morant’s point total was the most in NBA history by a player coming back from an absence of at least 25 games.