Morant erupts for 52 in Grizzlies’ win over Spurs

LOS ANGELES – Ja Morant produced a virtuoso 52-point performance as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the San Antonio Spurs 118-105 in the NBA’s Western Conference clash on Monday.

Morant made 22 of 30 shots from the field in a magical display for Memphis, who bounced back in style following their defeat to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday.

Morant’s masterpiece included two dazzling season highlights. He had an astonishing dunk over the Spurs’ Austrian player Jakob Poeltl. He then topped that on the stroke of halftime with a gravity-defying fadeaway jump shot after plucking a length-of-the-court pass from Steven Adams out of the air.

The win leaves Memphis in third in the Western Conference with 43 wins and 20 defeats, trailing the Golden State Warriors (43-18) and the leading Phoenix Suns (49-12).

Elsewhere on Monday, the Miami Heat shut down DeMar DeRozan to rout the Chicago Bulls 112-99 in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference clash.

Gabe Vincent and Tyler Herro scored 20 points apiece while Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each had 15 points as Miami’s balanced offense completed a convincing victory.

But Miami’s hard-nosed defensive display also played a huge role in the win, with the Heat ending DeRozan’s remarkable run of 10 consecutive games with 30 points or more.

DeRozan was held to 18 points.