Grizzlies star stole the game away from Timberwolves, the last-second play by Ja Morant left everyone who was expecting overtime in surprise.
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The Tuesday night action in FedExForum might just be the game of the 2022 Playoffs. The game started with Ja Morant and the taking an 11-point lead early in the first quarter, but Wolves fought back and took a 3-point lead to end the quarter.
Not a lot, but the game went back and forth with 8 lead changes and 4 tied games, but Wolves took a commanding 13-point lead just 2 minutes into the final quarter, and it looked like they’ll snatch the home advantage from Memphis and go 3-2 up in the series.
But then Ja from the Grizzlies woke up and had a game that tells why the 22-year-old is already a superstar in the league. He was having a cold night with just 6-points at half-time, and 4 more points in the third with just under 6 seconds to go when he had his typical moment on the rim which started things both for him and his team.
OH MY JA 😱 pic.twitter.com/r1usnR2ksS
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 27, 2022
Ja Morant has Erik Spoelstra in disbelief
The first time All-Star took over in the final quarter and scored 18 points to take his team into a situation that had them tied at 109-109 with just over 3 seconds in the game clock. And nobody but maybe Ja thought of not leaving for overtime.
(@ESPNStatsInfo): Ja Morant scored 18 points in the 4th quarter, the most by any Grizzlies player in the 4th quarter of a playoff game. Morant scored Memphis’ final 13 points, including the game winner with 1 second remaining. https://t.co/CO20FgW0dP
— Corey (@CJsucitymvp) April 27, 2022
The Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who himself had his team’s Game 5 victory that advanced them to the 2nd round and was in the post-game presser, had seemingly left the Grizzlies-Wolves game at a tie game. With 3 seconds remaining, he must have thought that he’ll have OT to watch when he gets done with his post-game duties. But little de he knew that the game will be over in seconds.
“You’ve got to be kidding me”
The moment @MiamiHEAT Head Coach Erik Spoelstra found out about Ja’s game-winner. pic.twitter.com/GJdF2A5O8U
— NBA (@NBA) April 27, 2022
This year’s first round has already given us some moments and rivalries, which generally develop deep into the Playoffs.
Everything must go only up from here, otherwise, such a great start as this could mean some disappointment in future series because of higher expectations.