Memphis star Ja Morant scored the game-winner with 18.6 seconds left on Saturday, lifting the Memphis Grizzlies to a 117-125 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in a tension-packed NBA shootout.
Morant, playing his second game back from a shoulder injury, scored a modest 12 points and missed all four of his three-point attempts.
However, he came through when it mattered, driving for a layup that made it 125-125 with 54.1 seconds left and then, after a Grizzlies steal, driving again and lofting a floater over Minnesota center Rudy Gobert to complete the Grizzlies’ fightback from six points down with less than five minutes to play.
Photo: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images/USA Today
Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards missed an awkward three-point attempt as time expired.
Jaren Jackson Jr scored 33 points and Desmond Bane added 21 for the Grizzlies, who came out on top in an intense duel that featured 25 lead changes.
Donte DiVincenzo led the Timberwolves with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points, Naz Reid had 19 off the bench and Edwards chipped in 15.
Photo: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images/USA Today
It was close in Detroit, where Cade Cunningham’s 23-point triple-double propelled the Pistons to a bounce-back victory, 123-114 over the Toronto Raptors.
Cunningham added 10 rebounds and 17 assists for the Pistons, who returned to the win column — and improved to 20-19 — two days after their five-game winning streak was halted by the Golden State Warriors.
Tim Hardaway Jr scored 27 points for Detroit and the Pistons made 19 of their 33 three-point attempts to come out on top in a game in which they swapped the lead 16 times.
“We just needed this win bad,” Cunningham said. “We got to .500 and we didn’t want to go back under. We wanted to keep rolling and get another streak going.”
Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points to lead seven players in double figures for the Raptors, who gave league-leading Cleveland a scare before falling to the Cavaliers on Thursday but have now lost five straight and 16 of their last 17.
Quickley’s step-back basket tied it at 109-109 with 5:04 to play. Detroit regained the lead with a basket from Tobias Harris. Cunningham followed with a fadeaway jumper and Jalen Duren threw down a dunk and the Pistons pulled away.
The Phoenix Suns, fueled by 34 points from Devin Booker, led wire-to-wire in a 114-106 home victory over the Utah Jazz.
Kevin Durant added 25 points for Phoenix, who led by as many as 16 on the way to their second straight victory.
Booker came out hot, connecting on seven of eight shots, including four of five from three-point range. He put up 22 points in the first half and finished with six of the Suns’ 13 three-pointers.
Lauri Markkanen scored 24 points to lead the Jazz, who pulled within three points early in the fourth quarter but were powerless when the Suns pulled away.
Three of Saturday’s scheduled games, two in Los Angeles and one in Atlanta, Georgia, were postponed.
The NBA had decided on Friday to postpone the Lakers’ home game against San Antonio and the Clippers’ home game against Charlotte due to the deadly wildfires raging across Los Angeles.
Lakers coach JJ Redick, whose house was among those destroyed in the Palisades Fire, on Friday said he hoped the team could return to action soon and “give people hope.”
On Saturday morning the league postponed the Hawks’ game against the Houston Rockets in Atlanta, where a winter storm brought snow and ice that made roads treacherous.
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