Ja Morant, Grizzlies pull away from Warriors to win 10th straight
Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies goes to the basket against Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Golden State Warriors during the second half at FedExForum on January 11, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. Justin Ford/Getty Images/AFP
Ja Morant scored a game-high 29 points and the Memphis Grizzlies won their 10th straight game Tuesday night, outlasting the visiting Golden State Warriors 116-108.
Ziaire Williams scored 17 points, and Tyus Jones added 17 points and eight assists off the bench for the Grizzlies. Brandon Clarke finished with 14 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 13 and secured a game-high 11 rebounds.
Stephen Curry notched his second triple-double of the season, scoring a team-high 27 points and adding 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Warriors. In his second game after a 2 ½-year absence, Klay Thompson scored 14 points.
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29 points, 8 assists for @JaMorant pushes the @memgrizz winning streak to double digits! pic.twitter.com/KUcOh1jdVH
— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2022
Gary Payton II and Andrew Wiggins added 13 points apiece and Jordan Poole 12 for the Warriors, who lost for the third time in their last four games. They played without defensive ace Draymond Green, out with a calf injury.
Jackson returned from foul trouble to reverse a two-point deficit with 10:11 remaining. His two baskets gave Memphis a lead it never relinquished en route to its second win in three head-to-heads with the Warriors this season.
Williams hit a pair of subsequent hoops, helping the Grizzlies go up by nine before the Warriors made one final push.
Thompson had a hoop, two free throws and an assist on Payton’s dunk that got Golden State within 111-108 with 1:14 to play.
Ja puts the finishing touches on the @memgrizz 10TH WIN IN A ROW! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JaK3WlNn47
— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2022
But Morant sandwiched Curry’s missed 3-pointer with a pair of interior hoops, the second of which he turned into a three-point play and an eight-point lead with 28.9 seconds to go.
Morant, the two-time reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, contributed eight assists, five rebounds and two blocks to the win, which came in the opener of a four-game homestand.
Kyle Anderson had three of the Grizzlies’ 11 steals as the hosts turned 17 turnovers into 26 points.
Largely due to the high turnover number and Memphis’ 11 offensive rebounds, the Warriors attempted 18 fewer shots (100-82) than the Grizzlies in the game.
Curry shot just 2-for-9 on 3-pointers. The Warriors went just 13-for-36, getting outscored 42-39 from beyond the arc by the Grizzlies, who shot 14-for-34 from deep.
Thompson went 5-for-13 overall and 2-for-5 on his 3-pointers.
