Morant’s right shoulder is bothering him again

NEW ORLEANS:

Ja Morant stood near the end of the Memphis Grizzlies bench, cheering on his teammates but leaving his right arm hanging below his injured shoulder as Memphis closed out a 132-124 victory over the Pelicans on Friday night.

Morant was hurt when he crashed into a hard but legal screen set by Daniel Theis during the third quarter. The collision sent Morant crashing to the floor in a way that led officials to initially whistle Theis for a foul before overturning that call on replay review.

Morant walked to the locker room to be examined and ultimately returned to the bench but not to the game. He used his left arm to point triumphantly at teammates after they hit clutch shots in the final minutes.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins had “no update” to provide on Morant’s condition after the game. Just about one year ago, a torn labrum in the same shoulder ended Morant’s 2023-24 season.

“Obviously, he took a nice shot there to the shoulder, but we’ll get more of an evaluation in the next couple days,” Jenkins said before praising the “great resolve” his team showed in holding the Pelicans off after Morant went out.

NEVER EASY

“Losing somebody like that is never easy,” Memphis guard Desmond Bane said. “But we kept our composure and were able to make plays down the stretch.”

The Grizzlies were scheduled to have updates ahead of tonight’s game at Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City.

Morant was able to dress on his own at his locker after the game in New Orleans. He appeared to be in good spirits and did not wear a sling. But he also continued to keep his right arm largely still and hanging by his side.

The 25-year-old Morant has averaged about 21 points per game this season – a bit below his career average of about 24 points per game.

Earlier this season, Morant missed eight games with a posterior hip subluxation and multiple Grade One pelvic muscle strains. The Grizzlies (22-10) went 5-3 during that stretch.

Morant scored 25 points in New Orleans but had just one point in the second half before his injury. Still, the Grizzlies surpassed the 130-point threshold, one night after scoring a franchise record 155 points in a victory over Toronto.

The Grizzlies current offensive flow, Bane said, is “balanced, it’s together, it’s fast – all of those things”.

SLUMPING WARRIORS

In other games on Friday night, Norman Powell scored 24 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers held on to beat the slumping Golden State Warriors for the third time this season, 102-92. James Harden added 18 points and seven assists, and Ivica Zubac had 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Jonathan Kuminga scored a career-high 34 points off the bench to lead the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry (knee) and Draymond Green (back).

The Clippers are still waiting for Kawhi Leonard to make his season debut. Kevin Porter Jr. sat out because of illness.

The Warriors fell to 3-12 in their last 15 games after their third loss in a row. They are 4-2 without Curry in the line-up and 1-1 without Curry and Green.

SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Evan Mobley had 26 points, and the streaking Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 149-135 for their sixth straight win.

Cleveland set a season high in points and improved to 10-1 since dropping two in a row to Atlanta last month.

Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists for his league-leading 12th triple-double of the season, and Jamal Murray also had 27 with 10 assists for Denver, which have dropped two in a row.

MAVS WIN

Kyrie Irving scored 20 points, Daniel Gafford added 16, and the Dallas Mavericks won their first game since star Luka Doncic was injured, beating the Phoenix Suns 98-89.

Kevin Durant scored 35 points for the Suns, who have lost four of their past five games.

Doncic is expected to miss about a month with a calf injury suffered in the team’s Christmas Day loss to Minnesota. The Mavs were left further short-handed on Friday in the third quarter after forwards Naji Marshall and P. J. Washington – along with Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic – were ejected after a brief fight.

– AP