MY ACCOUNT
All-Star Ja Morant scored a career-high 46 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Chicago Bulls at United Center, and later attributed his achievement in part to Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
Saturday’s encounter saw the Grizzlies win 116-110 to move to 42-20, while the Bulls are 39-22.
Steven Adams also hit 12 points with a season-high 21 rebounds for Memphis, while DeMar DeRozan extended his 30-point streak to 10 games with a 31-point haul as the Bulls’ six-game win streak came to an end.
After the game, Morant was asked if he had seen the highlights video played in the arena of Jordan’s most memorable moments.
“I did watch it,” he said. “And then, I did start scoring a lot. It probably played a part in it.”
The 22-year-old made 15 of 28 field goal attempts, sank three shots from beyond the arc and made 13 out of 15 free throws.
His 46-point haul comes just 10 days after he racked up 44 against the Portland Trail Blazers, and makes it 16 games in a row in which he has scored at least 20 points.
“I’ve seen too many [incredible performances]. Kinda boring now,” Grizzlies team-mate Adams said jokingly. “He’s such an amazing player.”
Morant also went on to praise the effort of his team, saying: “They gotta be recognised for the job they do for us on the floor. Obviously we had a lot of guys who contributed big for us tonight.
“[Desmond Bane] hit a big-time three, Kyle [Anderson] with the stops on the defensive end, Steve being the man inside the paint, Tyus [Jones] stepping up and hitting big free throws, and so on down the line.
“Obviously without them, we probably wouldn’t have been in that position, so a lot of credit has to go to my team-mates.”
