Ja Morant exited with a sprained ankle but the Memphis Grizzlies earned their first victory of the season without him, outlasting the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 116-111 in overtime Monday night.
The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year was wheeled to the back of the arena late in the first half after hurting his left ankle when he leaped to block a shot by Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and landed on the Nets forward’s foot.
Morant rejoined his teammates on the bench in the second half with his foot in a walking boot.
The point guard's injury comes with the Grizzlies already without star big man Jaren Jackson Jr who is still recovering from a knee injury.
Morant watched Brandon Clarke score the go-ahead basket on a follow shot with 41 seconds left in overtime before the Grizzlies put it away with free throws.
Kyle Anderson scored a career-high 28 points and Dillon Brooks added 24 for the Grizzlies, who had dropped their first two games. Clarke had 16 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Caris LeVert had 28 points and 11 assists for the Nets, who rested Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving while losing for the second straight night.
Brooklyn is also without Spencer Dinwiddie, who will have surgery to repair a partially torn right ACL sustained Sunday.
TRAIL BLAZERS 115, LAKERS 107
Damian Lillard scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half, and CJ McCollum had 20 points and 11 assists in Portland's victory over Los Angeles.
Gary Trent Jr. matched his career high with seven 3-pointers while scoring 28 points in the Blazers’ second straight win over the Lakers at Staples Center.
LeBron James had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the NBA champions, who dropped to 2-2 on their season-opening homestand. Dennis Schröder added 24 points, but the Lakers’ streak of 59 straight victories when taking a lead into the fourth quarter was snapped.
Anthony Davis had 13 points and 10 rebounds in a tentative return from a one-game absence due to a bruised calf.
NUGGETS 124, ROCKETS 111
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds for the 42nd triple-double of his career, and Denver beat short-handed Houston for its first win of the season. Jokic's 18 assists was the most for a centre since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968.
Jamal Murray added 21 points before leaving with 4:05 remaining in the third quarter after a collision in traffic sent him sprawling to the floor.
He held his hand to his head for a couple of minutes but got up and walked under his own power to the locker room for further examination. He was back on the bench midway through the fourth but did not re-enter the game.
James Harden had 34 points to lead undermanned Houston. Christian Wood added 23.
The Rockets have started the season without key components of their roster, including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Gordon and Mason Jones, who remain away from the team due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
Houston dressed nine players against the Nuggets and was coming off a two-point overtime loss at Portland in the season opener Saturday.
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