NBA: Morant's late jumper lifts Grizzlies over Wolves

Ja Morant made a tiebreaking jumper with 18 seconds left, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 33 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-125 on Saturday night in a game that was tight from start to finish.

Morant finished with just 12 points, but he had the tying basket with 54 seconds to go before his 11-footer for the lead. Desmond Bane had 21 points for Memphis, going 4 for 8 from 3-point range.

Anthony Edwards missed two 3-pointers in the final 7.3 seconds of a game in which neither team led by more than six and featured 25 lead changes.

Donte DiVincenzo scored a season-high 27 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 for the Wolves, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Minnesota had the ball with the game tied at 125 and under a minute to play, but Julius Randle turned the ball over. It was the 19th turnover of the game by the Wolves.

Memphis took 108 shots to Minnesota's 83, thanks in large part to 21 offensive rebounds.

Call 12 for the Game Winner. Vote @JaMorant https://t.co/bE1mneV5uh pic.twitter.com/XOud8B3ydg

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 12, 2025

Cunningham stars as Pistons stay hot

Cade Cunningham had 22 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons defeated the reeling Toronto Raptors 123-114.

Cunningham fell one assist shy of his career high, set on Dec. 16, and has the second-most triple-doubles in Pistons’ history.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 27 points and Malik Beasley added 18 for the Pistons, who have won nine of 11.

Immanuel Quickley had 25 points for Toronto, which has lost five straight and 16 of 17. Scottie Barnes had 16 points and 11 rebounds as Toronto had seven players score in double figures.

Quickley's jumper tied the game at 109 with five minutes left, but Toronto missed four straight free throws to allow Detroit to take a 113-109 lead on Cunningham's short jumper with 3:48 to play.

Toronto led 66-65 at halftime, but Hardaway had 11 points in the third quarter as Detroit built a 99-93 lead.

Say it with me... DETROIT DUB pic.twitter.com/NNCz8rgskh

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) January 12, 2025

Booker, Durant power Suns

Devin Booker scored 34 points and the Phoenix Suns never trailed in a 114-106 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Booker had 22 points in the first half on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He finished 12 for 20 overall and 6 for 12 from behind the arc.

Kevin Durant scored 25 points for the Suns, who led by as many as 16 points but struggled to put away the Jazz, who dropped their third in a row, until the fourth quarter. Grayson Allen had 14 points, nine in the final period.

The Suns have won three of four since coach Mike Budenholzer reorganised the Suns’ rotation with Bradley Beal coming off the bench. Ryan Dunn moved into the Suns’ lineup at forward.

Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 24 points and Collin Sexton had 20.

Utah played without regulars Jordan Clarkson, Keyonte George and John Collins, but still got contributions from reserves Svi Mykhailiuk and Cody Williams with 13 points apiece.

Allen hit his only 3-pointer of the game early in the fourth quarter to make it a six-point lead and the Suns pulled away after that.

DUBS pic.twitter.com/FN6mEnkQse

— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 12, 2025