Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies drives the ball against Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz during the first half at FedExForum on January 28, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Getty Images via AFP)
LOS ANGELES – Ja Morant lit a fire under Memphis’ offence delivering a triple double as the red-hot Grizzlies rolled over the Utah Jazz 119-109 on Friday night in Memphis.
Morant finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Grizzlies, who have won 15 of their last 17 contests.
Morant is averaging 35.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists over his past five games.
He was coming out of one of his best games of the season on Wednesday as he celebrated being selected to his first NBA all-star starting lineup earlier that day by scoring a season-high 41 points in a win over San Antonio.
He shot just under 50 percent from the field (10-of-22) after having shot 50 percent or better six times this month.
Brandon Clarke finished with 22 points for the Grizzlies, who won for the 15th time in 18 games. Jaren Jackson Jr chipped in 18 points, and Desmond Bane added 17.
Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies goes to the basket against Rudy Gay of the Utah Jazz during the first half at FedExForum on January 28, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Getty Images via AFP)
Stopping Morant proved to be an almost impossible task for the Jazz who were missing Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell missed his sixth straight game because of a concussion. Gobert missed his third consecutive contest because of a calf strain.
Danuel House scored a season-high 21 points to lead the Jazz, who have lost four straight games.
Mike Conley added 15 points and six assists, and Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 13 points apiece.
Nuggets over Pelicans
Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets won their fourth game in a row by defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, 116-105.
Jokic finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nuggets improved to 3-0 on a six-game road trip.
Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets (AFP)
Aaron Gordon scored 20 points, Bryn Forbes added 14, Monte Morris had 13, Austin Rivers 12 and Zeke Nnaji 11 for Denver, which has won nine of its last 12 games.