Ja Morant makes NBA return after eight-game suspension off the BENCH vs. Houston

Ja Morant had 17 points off the bench while going 6-13 with four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in his return to the NBA court Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets.

The 23-year-old said his status was “up in the air” Tuesday, but coach Taylor Jenkins all but confirmed that Morant would be part of the rotation before the game.

It was the All-Star’s first game since a league-imposed suspension for brandishing a weapon at a strip club on March 4.

Early in his return, Morant threw a characteristically emphatic dunk into an alley-oop on Kenyon Martin Jr.

His father, Tee Morant, who has been the subject of comments about his role as a father since the Denver incident, was on the court wearing a hoodie that said “Redemption” on the front.

Memphis won the game by a score of 130-125, which, combined with a Mavericks loss, meant the Grizzlies clinched the playoffs.

While Morant led the team in points off the bench, Jaren Jackson Jr. led all scorers on the night with 37 points and ten boards for the Grizzlies. Desmond Bane also had 20 points and seven assists for Memphis.

The Rockets had a pair of 30+ point scorers as Jalen Green scored 32 points and Kenyon Martin Kr. put up 31 on the shootout.

A celebrating Morant brought his daughter Kaari onto the court where she repeated after him saying, “It’s a parade within my city, yeah.”

It’s a win that clinched the playoffs for Memphis, even as Morant took it a little easier than usual in his return to an NBA court.

“Obviously we don’t have a lot of time until the end of the regular season, but we want to be smart with that layoff and we’re not doing anything to jeopardize his health,” Jenkins told reporters before the game.

Before the start of the game, Morant suggested the possibility of playing fewer minutes given his lack of practice and competitive play in recent weeks.

The All-Star hasn’t played since he was suspended by the league and the Grizzlies, with his last game coming on March 3 against Denver.

“This was something that he brought to the table that had been on my mind,” Jenkins said.

“So collectively we thought this was the best strategy, at least for the first one or two games. And then we’ll reassess after that.’

Morant arrived at the downtown Memphis stadium Wednesday night dressed in an olive green tracksuit and a white T-shirt.

Morant spoke publicly for the first time since his league-imposed eight-game suspension ended Tuesday, describing his current status as an “ongoing process” after 11 days of counseling in Florida during his absence.

“Obviously, I’ve been there for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely better. So, that’s an ongoing process for me that I’ve still been going on since I came out.

He denied any suggestion that he has difficulty handling alcohol amid NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s determination that the 23-year-old was in an “intoxicated state” via the league statement.

“I don’t have an alcohol problem, never had an alcohol problem,” Morant said. ‘I was [to FL.] to get counseling to learn how to manage stress, deal with stress in a positive way instead of the ways I’ve tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes.’

Morant has apologized once again for the incident in which he displayed a gun at a Denver strip club in the hours after a March 3 loss to the Nuggets.

“I’m really sorry about that,” Morant said after practice.

“So, you know, my job now is, like I said, to be more responsible, smarter, and not cause any of that anymore.”