Ja Morant had 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies won their fourth straight game, beating the visiting Brooklyn Nets 135-119 on Friday.
Desmond Bane added 21 points and eight assists Santi Aldama made five 3-pointers and had 20 points off the bench for the Grizzlies, who won for the 10th time in their past 11 games. Jaren Jackson, Jr. put up 20 points, Brandon Clarke scored 14, and Jaylen Wells had 12.
Memphis never trailed after moving ahead 21-18 midway through the first quarter. The Grizzlies avenged two early-season losses to Brooklyn by shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 17 of 36 (47.2 percent) from 3-point range.
Jackson added seven rebounds and five steals for the Grizzlies, who have scored at least 115 points in 11 straight games.
Dorian Finney-Smith led Brooklyn with 19 points. Dennis Schroder and Jalen Wilson scored 15 points apiece, and Noah Clowney, Shake Milton, Day’Ron Sharpe, Cameron Johnson and Keon Johnson each had 12 points.
Brooklyn committed 18 turnovers and lost for the fifth time in its past six games.
The Grizzlies entered the contest as the league’s highest-scoring team at 122.1 points per game and led 39-36 at the end of a fast-paced first quarter. The teams combined for 13 made 3-pointers in the opening period.
Morant scored 16 points in the second quarter to help the Grizzlies extend their lead to 69-56 at the half.
After Brooklyn pulled within 74-72 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Johnson, Finney-Smith and Schroder early in the third quarter, Memphis answered with a 13-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Jaylen Wells.
Memphis held a 107-95 advantage at the start of the fourth quarter and scored seven straight points to lead 121-106 with 7:34 remaining after a layup by Clarke.
Ben Simmons scored with 5:38 left to cut the Nets’ deficit to 123-113, but the Grizzlies turned away the comeback effort by scoring the game’s next 10 points.
Both teams were playing on four days’ rest after failing to qualify for the final rounds of the NBA Cup.
–Field Level Media
