CHICAGO (AP) — Ja Morant spun and flipped in an over-the-shoulder layup. He threw down a vicious alley-oop dunk.
Memphis’ All-Star put on quite a display for the Chicago crowd and might have gotten little extra lift seeing highlights of Michael Jordan on the video board.
Morant scored a franchise-record 46 points and the Grizzlies hung on to beat DeMar DeRozan and the Bulls 116-110 on Saturday night.
The Grizzlies let a 17-point lead shrink to one before squeezing it out after losing two in a row. They also stopped Chicago’s six-game winning streak.
Morant surpassed his previous regular-season high of 44 points. He had 47 in a playoff loss to Utah last season.
Morant scored 16 in the first half and 20 in the third quarter. He made 15 of 28 shots, including three 3-pointers, and was 13 for 15 at the foul line.
Adams added 12 points and a season-high 21 rebounds, and the Grizzlies frustrated DeRozan even though the five-time All-Star scored 31 points.