Ja Morant delivered a game-winning jumper as time expired to give the Memphis Grizzlies a 110-108 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Memphis and marked the first for interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo.
Morant finished with 30 points, including 11 in the final quarter, and his last-second shot secured the Grizzlies’ 45th win of the season.
The two-time All-Star also added five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes, leading a balanced offensive effort from the Western Conference’s sixth-place team.
Desmond Bane posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards, while Scotty Pippen Jr. contributed 17 points and seven assists off the bench.
Jaylen Wells and Jaren Jackson Jr. each scored 13, and rookie center Zach Edey added eight points and 13 rebounds.
The Heat saw their six-game winning streak halted, despite 35 points from Tyler Herro on 12-of-23 shooting.
Bam Adebayo followed with 26 points and seven rebounds, but his potential go-ahead shot with under a minute to play came up short over Morant.
Miami, which fell to 35-42 on the season, was officially locked into the Eastern Conference play-in tournament earlier in the evening when Milwaukee defeated Philadelphia.
This marks the Heat’s third straight trip to the play-in, following a 2023 Finals run and a first-round playoff appearance in 2024.
Kel’el Ware added a double-double for the visitors with 13 points and 15 rebounds in 35 minutes.
Both teams were locked in a tight contest throughout, as neither side led by double digits at any point.
Memphis shot 47.1% from the field and hit 16-of-38 from beyond the arc, with Morant connecting on three of his seven three-point attempts.
Miami, which finished 14-for-33 from deep, nearly matched the Grizzlies’ perimeter efficiency but committed 11 turnovers compared to Memphis’ 18.
The Heat trailed 83-80 entering the fourth, but Herro helped erase the deficit with timely buckets down the stretch.
Davion Mitchell gave Miami a spark off the bench with 11 points, seven assists, and three steals in 37 minutes of action.
Still, the final possession belonged to Memphis, as Morant isolated on the wing, drove toward the paint, and sank a 12-foot floater just before the buzzer sounded.
The Grizzlies dominated the glass with a 49-47 rebounding edge and limited Miami to just 41.1% shooting from the field overall.
Santi Aldama added nine points and eight rebounds for Memphis, who now hold the tiebreaker over Miami after splitting their two meetings.
The Heat were without several rotation players, including Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic, and Kevin Love, while the Grizzlies were still missing Brandon Clarke and Vince Williams Jr.
Morant was assessed a technical foul early in the game but avoided further discipline and stayed composed when it mattered most.
Memphis improves to 45-32 and continues to pursue home-court advantage in the first round, with five games left on their regular-season slate.
