Ja Morant's buzzer-beater breaks Grizzlies' losing streak

With the game clock running down, the 6-foot-2 Morant shot a fadeaway over 7-foot Kel'el Ware that bounced in to give the Grizzlies a 110-108 win over the Miami Heat. The win broke Miami's seven-game winning streak and Memphis' four-game losing streak, and it kept the Grizzlies even with the the Minnesota Timberwolves at 45-32.

Morant finished with 30 points, two nights after scoring 36 points in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. As that game wound down, Morant and the Warriors' Buddy Hield pointed "finger guns" at each other, drawing double technical fouls. The NBA reportedly investigated and decided to warn the players.

The warning didn't dissuade Morant, who repeated the gesture early in the game against the Heat, busting it out after sinking a first-quarter three-pointer.

It's a provocative move that might draw more scrutiny from the NBA, one season after Morant served a 25-game suspension for flashing actual guns on videos on his social media. The Grizzlies are in a tight battle for playoff seeding with four Western Conference teams separated by half a game going into Thursday's action. Losing Morant won't help.

They still had him Thursday, however, as he poured in 11 points during the final quarter. It let the Grizzlies escape with a win even as Tyler Herro scored 35 points, Ware had a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds and Bam Adebayo had 26 points and two blocks, including one on Morant in the final minute.

Morant's shot-making was the difference in a game that gave Grizzlies interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo his first NBA win. The team now has to hope his finger-shot-making won't sideline him down the stretch.