by Yes Morant returned after missing two games with a shoulder injury to score 31 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 122-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The victory broke a four-game losing series for the Grizzlies, which are struggling in a four-team for the number 2 seed in the classification of the Western Conference.
In Friday’s game, Memphis had lost eight of the last 11 games and the team dropped at 38-24 to the no. 4 place in the west, only half a game for the Houston Rockets. The Grizzlies have not won two consecutive games since a four-game winning streak of January 30-Februari. 5. Those four victories were part of a piece in which Memphis won 10 of 11.
The next few opponents of the Grizzlies include three of the worst teams of the NBA in the New Orleans Pelicans (17-46), Phoenix Suns (29-33) and Utah Jazz (15-48). That can enable them to merge some victories for a matchup with the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers (52-10).
Desmond Bane added 27 points with 16 rebounds for Memphis, followed by 17 points and eight boards by Brandon Clarke. Rookie Zach Edey took 10 attacking rebounds and 13 in total.
Morant struggled with his outer shot, perhaps because of his shoulder, shoots 1 of 5 on 3-Pointers, but moved eight assists. He joked with ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth during a post game interview that he “got some help” when playing the injury, but he was “ready to sit down.”
Despite losing five of their last six and playing without important players such as Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis because of injuries, the Mavericks aimed a fight and saw out as if they could extend the losing series of Memphis to five. Dallas finished in the first quarter with a lead of 31-22 and held on to a three-point margin in half. Dante Exum hit a deep 3-Pointer at the end of the third, making it seemed that Fortune was on the side of the mavs.
A victory would have helped the fading play -off opportunities of the Mavericks. Dallas came in the matchup of Friday at 32-31 with a 2.5-game lead over the Suns for the number 10 seed and a berth in the NBA Play-in Tournament. But the MAVs were surpassed 33-17 in the fourth quarter when Bane and Morant took control to close the game.
Brandon Williams led Dallas with 31 points from the bank. He is currently with the MAVs on a two -way contract. Naji Marshall followed with 29 points and 17 rebounds, while Klay Thompson added 15.
Jason Kidd about the difficulty to plan who will be the number 1 option, given the current circumstances:
“There is no option no. 1, it is team … we have no no. 1 or no. 2, we are not built that way now. We are built on team … Klay is one of the best, a future Hall of Famer, but … pic.twitter.com/a9zyjqedh6
– Noah Weber (@Noahweber00) March 8, 2025
With the Irving season over, still sidelined and Luka Dončić now played for the Los Angeles Lakers, head coach Jason Kidd admitted after the game that finding a top score option is a kind of gambling game every evening.
“We have no no. 1 or no. 2, we are not built that way now,” Kidd told reporters. “It will be a group effort every night, it becomes someone else, and that may mean that we can be dangerous, because nobody can load one person, and we have to take advantage.”
Next for the MAVS is a Sunday Matinee with the Suns. Later that evening the Grizzlies visit the Pelicans.
