NEW ORLEANS – Ja Morant stood at the end of the Memphis bench, cheering on his teammates but letting his right arm hang beneath his injured shoulder as the Grizzlies earned a 132-124 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Morant was injured when he collided with a hard but legal screen from Daniel Theis during the third quarter. The collision sent Morant crashing to the ground, in a manner that led to the referees initially whistling Theis for a foul before overturning that call during replay review.
Morant walked to the locker room to investigate and eventually 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” on Morant’s condition after the game. About a year ago, a torn labrum in the same shoulder ended Morant’s 2023-24 season.
“Obviously he took a nice shot on the shoulder there, but we’ll get more evaluation in the coming days,” Jenkins said, before praising the “great determination” his team showed in stopping the Pelicans after Morant had left. out.
“Losing someone like that is never easy,” Memphis guard Desmond Bane said. “But we kept our composure and were able to take action along the way.”
The Grizzlies were expected to receive updates on Saturday on all injured players heading into Sunday night’s game at Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City.
Morant was able to dress himself in his locker after the game in New Orleans. He seemed cheerful and was not wearing a sling. But he also kept his right arm mostly still and hanging at his side.
The 25-year-old Morant averaged 21 points this season – slightly below his career average of 22.4.
Earlier this season, Morant sat out eight games due to a posterior hip subluxation and multiple Grade 1 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 win over Toronto.
The Grizzlies’ current offensive flow, Bane said, is “balanced, it’s together, it’s fast — all those things.”
