With seven seconds left in regulation, Joe Harris inbounded to Kyrie Irving from the sideline to the right wing and the Nets guard positioned himself against Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant.

With his back against Morant, Irving pivoted right and faced the basket.

As the seconds ticked off the clock, Irving went left and pulled up off a pump fake for the potential game-winning shot, but Morant time the attempt perfectly, stuffing the jumper and sending the tie into overtime.

The play summed up the Nets' overall performance once Sunday's 134-133 loss to the Grizzlies (1-2) became final.

Irving made Nets and NBA history with his game-high 37 points, but he got bested by Morant, who ultimately edged the veteran on both ends of the floor.

Highlighted by the team-high 30 points he compiled on 13-of-22 shooting, Morant became the third player in league history to have a 30-point and nine-assist game within his first three games.

"I expected him to come out aggressive, be who he is," Irving said of Morant. "Got downhill a couple of times, finished over our bigs. Didn't really hit the outside shot tonight, which we wanted to encourage, but he did what he's pretty great at, what he's known for, and that's getting in the paint, playing with a lot of passion, and I think he showed that tonight."

Morant's biggest play came later on, down 133-131 in overtime.

With 3.7 seconds to go after Spencer Dinwiddie's 1-for-2 trip at the free-throw line, Solomon Hill's inbound from beyond halfcourt got passed off by Jae Crowder for Morant.

Unable to get a shot off as the Nets' double-team defense of Dinwiddie and Harris crashed on Morant, he backed up and found his trailing teammate -- Crowder -- who drilled the game-winning triple at the buzzer.

"I'm not going to lie -- at first, when I went behind the back, I was just trying to get my feet set and Jae Crowder was like, 'Trailer!'" Morant said. "And I knew that both defenders were on me, so I just hitched back and backed into the other defender, so they wouldn't be able to contest a shot, and I believe in Jae the whole way. He delivered for us tonight."

A two-year starter at Murray State, where he averaged 24.5 points and 10.0 assists per game on 49.9-percent shooting during his 2018-19 season with the Racers, Morant went No. 2 overall to the Grizzlies in the 2019 NBA draft.

The Knicks followed with third overall selection and took Duke's RJ Barrett, who is averaging 21.0 points and 5.0 rebounds on 51.0-percent shooting in New York's first three games of the 2019-20 campaign.

Without New Orleans Pelicans top pick and Duke product Zion Williamson on the floor for the first couple of months as he works back from his torn right meniscus, Morant's breakout performance against the Nets (1-2) was an eye-opening effort.

"Obviously, a very talented player," Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Morant, who is averaging 12.0 points and 4.5 assists on 42.9-percent shooting through the Grizzlies' first three games. "Hit some tough shots. His quickness, his speed to the rim, just was getting downhill on us a lot."

Popular in the Community