With 18 fourth-quarter points, including the Grizzlies’ final 15, the All-Star point guard tied his playoff career-high of 47 points. With the Memphis Grizzlies up by one point, he made his final field goal. With a courageous attack on the rim, he completed over the raised arms of Golden State defenders.
On the next possession, Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson travelled, and Morant put the game away to the sound of MVP chants at FedExForum on Tuesday night.
Morant made 15 of 31 shots from the field and 5-of-12 from three-point range. Morant attacked tenaciously throughout the game, getting to the free-throw line 13 times and making 12 of his attempts. He also had eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and only two turnovers in the game.
The NBA’s Most Improved Player, who had 47 points in Game 2 against Utah last season, is only the third player in league history to score 45 points in consecutive postseason games before turning 23. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are the other two.
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Stephen Curry scored 27 points while hitting 3-of-11 from beyond the arc. Jordan Poole scored 20 points off the bench, but he only made one of six three-point attempts. Andrew Wiggins had 16, making one of seven three-point attempts. Klay Thompson finished with 12 points on 2 of 12 shooting from the field. The Warriors made only 7 of 38 3-point attempts.
Morant is awe-inspiring to both Johnson and James. With his 47 points, he joined James and Kobe Bryant as the only players in the playoffs to have multiple 45-point games before reaching 23 years old. Morant’s previous 47-point performance occurred in Game 2 of Memphis’ first-round series with the Utah Jazz in 2021.
In the regular season, the Grizzlies were 23rd in the NBA with 32.7 3-point attempts per game. They had already topped that mark after three quarters on Tuesday.
Ja Morant WENT OFF for 47 points, scoring the final 15 points for the @memgrizz to lead them to the Game 2 victory and tie the series at 1-1! #GrindCity
— NBA (@NBA) May 4, 2022
Ja Morant: 47 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST, 3 STL, 5 3PM
Jaren Jackson Jr: 12 PTS, 7 REB, 2 BLK
Game 3: Sat. 8:30pm/et on ABC pic.twitter.com/HJvCAc0HL1
Golden State’s strategy included forcing the Grizzlies to shoot and limiting their opportunities in the paint. In Game 1, Memphis made 16 of 40 3-point attempts. Although the efficiency wasn’t as high as it could have been, Memphis got huge plays when they needed them on Tuesday. The Grizzlies made 14 of 45 3-point attempts.
In Game 1, Curry and Poole combined for 23 points in the third quarter. Curry had four points and Poole had six, but Golden State went on a 13-3 run to tie the game at 77 in the third. In the last seconds, Morant was smacked in the face and walked to the bench, claiming he couldn’t see out of his left eye.
On a basket by Poole in the first minute of the fourth quarter, Golden State took its first lead of the game, and the Warriors led by as much as 81-77. Memphis responded with a 9-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Williams, who had missed the previous two postseason games due to a painful right knee.
