Ja Morant admits he went through ‘a lot of hard days’ during 25-game suspension and thanks his Grizzlies ‘brothers’ as he gives his mom the perfect birthday present with Pelicans game winner
- The 24-year-old two-time All-Star ended Memphis' five-game skid on Tuesday
- He served the suspension last year for his gun antics on social media
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Ja Morant has admitted he's been through 'a lot of tough days' while serving his 25-game suspension, thanking his 'brothers' at the Grizzlies for help as he gives his mother the perfect birthday present with a game-winner in his NBA return against the Pelicans.
The 24-year-old guard capped an electrifying season debut with 34 points with a spinning dribble in the lane and set up a crucial floater in Memphis' 115-113 victory over New Orleans on Tuesday night.
The Grizzlies, who entered on a five-game skid and were 6-19 during Morant's suspension for his social media antics with guns, trailed by 24 in the first half but took a 113-111 lead on Morant's inside basket with 1:22 against.
The Pelicans tied the game and the teams traded missed three-pointers before Morant's buzzer beater. In a postgame interview with TNT Sports, the two-time All-Star stated twice that he is a “dog” before going into detail about his lack of action since March.
'I have put work into people. I haven't played a game in eight months and I've had a lot of time to educate myself,” Morant said. “A lot of tough days that I've been through, but basketball is my life, which I love, therapeutic for me and I'm just excited to be back.
Ja Morant revealed he is struggling with a 25-game suspension in his postgame interview with Grizzlies
When asked to describe the final play of the night for the Grizzlies, Morant referred to his jersey number. “Called 12,” he said, adding that he didn't really want coach Taylor Jenkins to call a timeout.
'(…) They believed in me. “I actually wanted to go on a postal trip, but they said no, so I had to deliver for them,” Morant further revealed, going on to praise his teammates.
'They are my boys, my brothers. We took up the work together. Harsh practices. Light practices. Therapy. To flee. We spend a lot of time together. They helped me enormously during this process.
“Just saying positive things, telling me to stay true, keep working and they showed they believed in me and it shows how excited everyone is that I'm back.
“Congratulations mom, I'm on my way home.”
Morant scored 34 points and assisted eight times in 35 minutes in Tuesday's win against the Pels
Although they play in the same division, Tuesday night marked only the seventh time that Morant and Williamson — the top two NBA draft picks in 2019 — have appeared in the same game, mainly due to Williamson's health issues.
The Grizzlies (7-19) host the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
They are the thirteenth seed in the Western Conference and are above the Portland Trail Blazers (6-19) and San Antonio Spurs (4-21).
The Pelicans will visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday evening.