Grizzlies star's 'vicious' dunk stuns NBA

1 year ago 69

Ja Morant scored 23 points, 10 assists and different ferocious dunk to assistance the Memphis Grizzlies bushed the Indiana Pacers 130-112 to widen the NBA's longest existent winning streak to 9 games.

Desmond Bane scored 25 points to pb the Grizzlies, who tied Denver for the Western Conference's champion grounds astatine 29-13.

Neither Bane nor Morant was needed successful the 4th quarter.

Morant's soaring slam implicit Jalen Smith made it a 20-point crippled with 4:20 near successful the third, and Memphis led by arsenic overmuch arsenic 34 successful the fourth.

Asked if the dunk was his best, Morant said, “Yeah, easy due to the fact that of the difficulty", past added, “It's what everybody has been waiting for. I yet made it".

“I ain't seen thing similar that one. That's astir apt going to spell down arsenic dunk of the year," added Bane.

The crippled was tied successful the 2nd 4th earlier Memphis outscored the Pacers 27-11 to instrumentality a 68-52 pb astatine half-time. Morant had 5 points and 4 assists during that span.

“Obviously we're having amusive retired there, playing hard and playing together,” Bane said.

Santi Aldama added 17 points and Ziaire Williams 13 for the Grizzlies.

“We're not playing cleanable basketball," Grizzlies manager Taylor Jenkins said of the team's winning streak.

“I'm conscionable gladsome our guys are uncovering antithetic ways to win, whether we're playing with a pb oregon playing from behind. Each crippled has presented a antithetic situation for america and our guys person stayed the course.”

Reserve defender Chris Duarte scored 25 points for the Pacers, portion rookie Bennedict Mathurin had 16 and T.J. McConnell added 13.

"That precise good whitethorn beryllium the champion squad connected the satellite close now," Pacers manager Rick Carlisle said.

"They're precise hard to play.”

The Pacers, missing 2 starters, person present mislaid 3 games successful a row.

Point defender Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana's starring scorer and NBA assistance leader, is expected to miss 2 weeks aft sustaining a near elbow strain and near genu contusion.

Centre Myles Turner, who averages 17 points, is besides retired with backmost spasms.

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