Blazers overcome Ja Morant's 44 points, beat Grizzlies

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Jusuf Nurkic had 32 points and eight rebounds, Anfernee Simons added 31 points and six assists and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame Ja Morant’s 44-point performance, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 123-119 on Wednesday night.

Josh Hart added 22 points, six assists and seven rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who won their fourth straight after leading most of the game and weathering a frantic finish.

"They made a heckuva run, as they should. They’re at home," Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. "We can’t lose our composure. Keep playing the way that we play, and we did that."

Morant matched his career high in scoring as Memphis had its six-game winning streak halted. Desmond Bane scored 30 points and Brandon Clarke finished with 12.

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Portland Trail Blazers guards CJ Elleby (16) and Anfernee Simons (1) high five in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)

The Grizzlies benefitted from a big scoring night from Morant and Bane, the team’s starting guard tandem. Their 74 points came on 20 of 39 shooting, Bane hit 7 of 12 from outside the arc, the seven made 3-pointers a career high. At times, the Trail Blazers tried to clog the middle to cut down on Morant’s paint points.

That opened the door for Bane.

"If you shift (defensively), you’re too late," Morant said. "… Just reading (defenders). If they help, I already know I’ve got (Bane) on the wings to knock down the 3-ball. If they try to stay home, I’m in the paint."

Memphis had trouble generating offense through the first half and into the third