Before Sunday’s game, Wizards coach Scott Brooks said Memphis Grizzlies rookie sensation Ja Morant was as “dynamic as anybody in the league.” Just 20 years old, Morant has fueled the Grizzlies to a surprising season with explosive speed, jaw-dropping dunks and flashy, pinpoint passes.
“Close to an All-Star this year and he will be probably next year,” Brooks said of Morant.
The sign of a true superstar, though, is whether he can take over a game — and that’s exactly what Morant did exactly in the Wizards’ 106-99 loss at home Sunday to the Grizzlies.
Morant had a game-high 27 points and added 10 assists and 10 rebounds — good for his first career triple-double — as Washington blew a game in which it led for the majority. The Wizards led by five, 85-80, entering the fourth, but Morant and the Grizzlies stormed back.
“That guy is young, but he plays like a five-year All-Star,” Brooks said of Morant. “He just controls the game. … He’s a problem. One mistake and he gets by you.”
As Morant put his imprint on the fourth, the Wizards went cold. They finished the game shooting just 35% — and only 15.4% in the final 12 minutes.
Star guard Bradley Beal led Washington with 26 points. But he didn’t get the support from the rest of his teammates. Rookie Rui Hachimura started strong — making four of his first six shots — but missed some key shots late. As a team, Washington missed 22 of its 26 fourth-quarter attempts.
This year, the Grizzlies are actually one of the few teams to play at a pace even faster than the Wizards, ranking fifth league-wide with 103.38 possessions per game. After a turnover, for example, Memphis’s average shot attempt comes in just 6.3 seconds — the best mark in the league, according to the advanced stats wesbite Inpredictable.
Morant is largely responsible for that effort. The No. 2 pick in the draft, Morant has torched opposing defenses with his speed and has surprisingly helped lead Memphis to the eighth-best record in the Western Conference. Entering Sunday, the Grizzlies had won 14 of their last 20 games.
The Wizards, though, were prepared for Memphis’ speed and matched it through the first half. Since last week’s trades, which saw the departure of Isaiah Thomas and Jordan McRae, Ish Smith has effortlessly moved into the starting lineup, helping Washington get off to a strong start.
Newcomer Jerome Robinson, too, made his impact in his first game with the Wizards. Robinson, the 13th overall pick in the 2018 draft, hit a 3-pointer as time expired in the first to give the Wizards a 30-18 lead.
At halftime, Washington led 55-47.
“We came out aggressive in the first quarter and I think in the last three, we kind of laid our aggression off,” Beal said.
That was especially apparent in the second half. Memphis’ size and athleticism both wore the Wizards down, leading to struggles on both ends for Washington.
Because of recent trades, Washington’s reworked second unit, too, is still getting used to each other. After having an impressive debut with Washington on Friday, point guard Shabazz Napier struggled in his follow up (0-for-7), and as a whole, the bench unit didn’t mesh as well.
That paved the way for Memphis to climb back into it. The Grizzlies first cut Washington’s lead to four, 91-87, with 8:43 in the fourth quarter when their starters like Morant and center Jonas Valanciunas had bullied defenders inside.
Memphis, however, tied the game just over three minutes later. Morant hit a dagger 3-pointer late at the end of the shot clock, causing Washington’s fans to collectively groan.
“I think we did good until the fourth,” Beal said of Washington’s defense on Morant. “For the most part, we had him pretty contained, especially in the first half. He wasn’t killing us too, too bad. And I think just late down the stretch, he was able to play the game the way he wanted to.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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