Ja Morant was showered with boos in his first game back from suspension in New Orleans, but he was welcomed with open arms when he made his home debut since his suspension on Thursday night against the Indiana Pacers.
The 24-year-old guard was given a loud ovation when his name was announced during the player introductions and he was greeted with a personal welcome back by Derrick Rose before tipoff.
“And on behalf of the fans, I want to say welcome back Ja,” Rose said from center court. “We proud of you shorty. Stay locked in and we appreciate you. Stay blessed.”
Morant helped the Grizzlies defeat the Pacers 116-103 on Thursday night, scoring 20 points in the win.
He also had a team-high eight assists and pulled down five boards.
Morant shot 7-of-16 from the field and 1-for-3 from 3-point range.
“It was good. It was good, I loved it,” Morant told the Bally Sports broadcast after the game. “This my family here, Love to be able to play in front of them again and definitely love to come and get a win. But, yeah man, I just love it.”
Morant’s lone 3-pointer came in the final minute of the first quarter when he knocked it down to give the Grizzlies a 35-22 lead.
Morant had dropped 34 points in his first game back against the Pelicans earlier in the week, and Memphis is now 2-0 with the star back in the lineup.
Morant had been suspended by the NBA for 25 games after he brandished a firearm on an Instagram Live – the second such incident he had been involved with that included a weapon.
He had been handed an eight-game ban for the first instance.
The Grizzlies star won’t get a chance to play in front of the home crowd again until New Year’s Eve when Memphis returns from a four-game road trip to face the Sacramento Kings.
