One week after star point guard Ja Morant made his triumphant return from suspension with a game-winning layup at New Orleans, the second trip to the Big Easy ended just as dramatically. 

Again, Morant had the ball in his hands in the final seconds of the game with a chance to win. The Grizzlies trailed by one, 103-102.

This time, he missed the shot. But there was a foul!

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Temporarily. 

After a long replay review, the call was overturned, and the ball was sent to center court for a jump ball. Less than 2 seconds remained.

Memphis needed a miracle. We’ve seen them happen in New Orleans before. 

Memphis forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. won the tip. The Grizzlies immediately called timeout. On the following inbounds play, the big man was fouled trying to tip in the game-winning alley-oop toss. 

After more reviews, to the free-throw line he marched, needing to make both to win. 

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Jackson’s first shot was the bottom of the net. The second smacked iron. 

To overtime the game went, an inevitable outcome. 

The hero of the game, again, was a player making his return. 

Needing one more punch, the Grizzlies found it from Marcus Smart, who came back from a 17-game absence with a foot sprain he sustained in mid-November. 

Smart reminded everyone why he is a former Defensive Player of the Year winner and quickly became a fan favorite in Boston. 

The veteran guard snatched away a steal from New Orleans star Brandon Ingram in the overtime period and raced to the other end of the floor for a layup, plus the foul, to establish a 3-point lead.

A couple minutes later, with the Grizzlies up by four, he stood in a took a charge against 284-pound Zion Williamson. He was crushed on the drive. 

BIG TIME DEFENSE @smart_MS3 pic.twitter.com/BP9xnLCXu4

— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) December 27, 2023

“Just don’t get hurt,” he said he was thinking in the moment. “But that’s the type of sacrifice we have to have for one another. You put your body on the line for your teammates, and they will do the same for you.”

But Smart wasn’t done. 

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Like a cherry on top, he found Morant for an emphatic alley-oop that iced a 116-115 win. 

So a 15-point deficit was erased. It came just a week after they evaporated a 24-point hole against the same team. 

The Grizzlies are 4-0 with Morant back in the fold. They are 1-0 since Smart returned from his foot injury. 

“It’s huge for us,” Smart said. “We are finally starting to catch our rhythm, and we don’t give up.”

AYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/hwVXbU5UY7

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) December 27, 2023

Overcoming the struggles

Cold shooting nearly cost the Grizzlies on Tuesday. They lifted 46 shots from beyond the arc and found the net on just 11 of them. 

It was just the third time in franchise history the Grizzlies have shot less than 24% from 3-point range on a minimum of 40 attempts. 

Shooting from 3-point range has been a problem all season for the Grizzlies — they rank 28th in the NBA in team percentage (33.6%) — but it had been much better since Morant was added as a slasher that opened up teammates. 

On Tuesday, they just couldn’t cash in on open opportunities. 

As they sputtered in the third quarter, New Orleans smacked the Grizzlies with a 17-4 run that garnered the Pelicans a 15-point lead, which was the largest by either team. 

Going cold

Out of the gate, it looked like Memphis was going to stay on a roll. 

Memphis pushed in front quickly on Tuesday night with a swarming defensive effort that forced seven first-half turnovers. Six different players blocked a shot, and four players generated at least one steal. 

The Grizzlies led by as many as eight in the first half and held New Orleans to 42% shooting. 

But their defensive progress was eventually thwarted by those offensive missteps. 

The 3-point shooting bogged the entire offense down. 

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After Desmond Bane made his first two attempts, Memphis missed its next 15 tries from beyond the arc. Players not named Bane finished the first half shooting 1-for-16 from deep.

It’s worth a reminder: Sharpshooter Luke Kennard is about a week away from a return. 

But long-range bombing wasn’t the only problem offensively. The Grizzlies gave the ball away, too. 

Morant had four turnovers in the first half before he found a rhythm. As a team, they had 10 over the first two quarters, which gave back the early lead in a hurry. 

A (happy) end to a run

For the first time since Morant’s return, the Grizzlies’ big three of Morant, Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. failed to all reach 20 points. 

Morant had 31. Bane had 27. Jackson, 19.

The missed free throw at the end of regulation was the difference. 

But it didn’t matter. The Grizzlies won, and Jackson turned up big in the final moments. 

Twice, Jackson caught the ball and made a dribble move to score in overtime. His first attempt gave the Grizzlies the lead, and his second pushed them in front by two possessions. 

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Last week, at the end of regulation, Morant said he wanted to give the ball to Jackson on the final possession because he had a mismatch. 

Bane and Jackson told the point guard to take it. 

But this time, Morant did hand over the rock, and it also turned out to be a successful strategy for Memphis. 

BIG TRIPPPPP ?? pic.twitter.com/K413meO60H

— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) December 27, 2023

“We have great players with a great mindset to never quit,” Smart said. “Jaren missed the free throw to win it for us in regulation. We told him to stay with it, and he gave us four straight and went to the foul line to seal it for us.”

Smart’s heroics

All of the Grizzlies had a hand in making the miracle win possible. 

Before Jackson could drill the game-tying free throw, it was Bane who hit a clutch 3-pointer that put Memphis in striking distance. 

But the night belonged to Smart, who received the love from his teammates as he was mobbed during his postgame television interview. 

The most underrated play of the night: Smart tossed the alley-oop try to Jackson in the final second that drew the foul. The perfectly placed pass soared directly next to the rim, which made the play possible in the first place. 

From the opening tip, Smart’s energy could be felt. 

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Smart was immediately inserted into the starting lineup and flew around the floor on the defensive end, forcing a pair of New Orleans turnovers. 

While he didn’t force shots offensively (4-for-10, 13 points), he made two important 3-pointers that narrowed the scoreboard in the fourth quarter. 

The veteran looked like he needed no help fitting in with the top unit. 

Smart was initially replaced by Vince Williams Jr., who played extremely well as a starter for the Grizzlies in the previous six games. 

The re-addition of Smart gives the Grizzlies two premier perimeter defenders to deploy for extended periods.

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Smart was out there for 29 minutes.

Williams played 27 minutes and was also on the floor late in the fourth quarter. He hit big shots, too, like the 3-pointer that cut the Pelicans advantage to four just before the late-game madness. 

“We have guys that believe in each other,” Smart said. “We are calmly making our way back.”

"We got some great players here with a great mindset. Never quit."

DUB talk with @smart_MS3 and @thefishnation ??? pic.twitter.com/hWTaZP8ws6

— Bally Sports: Grizzlies (@GrizzOnBally) December 27, 2023

Up next

The Grizzlies (10-19) will travel to take on the Denver Nuggets (22-10) Thursday at 8 p.m. (Bally Sports Southeast).