Ja Morant has historic night, breaks own scoring record and hits incredible buzzer-beater

By Ben Morse, CNN

Updated 1143 GMT (1943 HKT) March 1, 2022

Ja Morant celebrates with his teammates after hitting a buzzer-beater against the San Antonio Spurs.

(CNN)What can't Ja Morant do?

On Monday night, Morant put in one of the performances of the NBA season, contributing highlight after highlight in the Memphis Grizzlies' 118-105 win over the San Antonio Spurs. In his 34 minutes on the floor, the point-guard dunked over a seven-foot defender, hit an incredible buzzer-beater and had enough time to set a new franchise record for points, a record he broke just two days before. Morant finished with 52 points — surpassing the 46 points he initially broke the record with just two days earlier — on 22-of-30 shooting. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich — who, as a result of Morant's remarkable performance, remains one game short of equaling Don Nelson's record for the most regular-season wins by an NBA coach — was full of praise for the 22-year-old. Read More«He's a beautiful player,'' Popovich told the media. „What else can you say about him? It's not just that he's athletic. Everybody says: 'He's athletic.' Somebody says: 'He's a freak of nature' because he's so fast… But he makes decisions. He knows what is going on on the court.“So you combine that cerebral part of his game with his athleticism and you've got a special kid.''Morant goes to the basket against the Spurs.Box office playerMorant has been having a breakout season as an NBA star. The 2020 Rookie of the Year was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in his career and has been the driving force behind an improving Grizzlies team. And on Monday against the Spurs, he showed why he's become one of the most box office players in the league. First, he hit a deep