Ja Morant breaks Memphis Grizzlies’ single-game scoring record

The Memphis Grizzlies were looking to get another upset in game two against the Utah Jazz after storming into Salt Lake City and stealing a win in the first game of the series. They would not have such luck.

The Jazz would win the game, mainly due to the fact that Dillon Brooks and Jonas Valanciunas were in instant foul trouble. Really instant. Instant like they were out of the game within the first few minutes of the contest.

The officiating was extremely one-sided.

But fortunately for the Grizzlies, their star kept them in the game for the entirety of the outing, scoring the ball at will.

Memphis Grizzlies PG Ja Morant broke the Grizzlies’ single-game scoring record

Even though the Grizzlies wouldn’t see the results that they were hoping for, the youngest squad in the NBA Playoffs had plenty of positive takeaways after this game.

Notably, their young star in Ja Morant set a new single-game scoring record for the franchise — and I’m not just talking about playoff games. Morant broke the Grizzlies record in any contest whatsoever when it mattered most.

Morant scored 47 points on the night.

And it wasn’t one of those high-volume scoring nights that saw the star take so many shots that he was bound to accumulate a high total of points — Morant played an efficient game. The young point guard only took 26 shots, which may sound like a lot, but he didn’t force anything. He’d drain 15 of these, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Unfortunately, the Grizzlies just didn’t have the personnel requirements to take down the team with the best record in the NBA on Wednesday night.

Memphis fans will lay in bed tonight and wonder what could have happened if the game was officiated fairly. Make no mistake, the officials wanted Utah to win this game. Brooks fouls more than anybody in the NBA, but he hadn’t started playing aggressively yet.

Valanciunas, on the other hand, could have finished the game without a single foul. Watch it back, each call against him was completely bogus, highlighted by a ghost technical in the fourth quarter where he didn’t say a word and barely moved after the play.

That said, the Grizzlies fought hard and fans have to feel good about their chances at home in game three.