Ja Morant sets Grizzlies’ record for points in a game vs. Bulls

There was a big opportunity for the Chicago Bulls and second-year head coach Billy Donovan to get a statement win over one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season when they hosted star point guard Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies on the night of Feb. 26. But this meeting with the Grizzlies did not go as planned for Donovan and the Bulls.

In a tough night for five-time All-Star forward DeMar DeRozan through and through, the Bulls saw the Grizzlies control the game most of the way to the tune of a 116-110 win for Memphis. Morant and the Grizzlies got the jump on the Bulls early and often. There were spirited runs by the Bulls in the second and fourth quarters.

But it wasn’t enough to overcome a record-breaking night for Morant as the Grizzlies closed this one out late. Morant was able to make history by putting up a Grizzlies’ regular season record 46 points in Memphis’ win over the Bulls. An ESPN report confirms that this was good for the most points in a single regular season game by any Grizzlies player in their franchise history.

This was also good for a career-high for Morant. His previous career-high for points in a single game was a mark he set last season at 44. That is also a mark he tied just a few games ago.

Chicago Bulls torched on Feb. 26 on a record-breaking night from Ja Morant with 46 points

Morant is on an absolute tear of late. It was just over one week ago that Morant put up 44 points or the Grizzlies in an eventual loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

As a side note, it’s really hard to believe that the Grizzlies lost to the Blazers on one of the best nights of Morant’s career where he put up 44 points.

Moreover, Morant’s 46 points against the Bulls came on 15-of-28 shooting from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 13-of-15 from the free-throw line. Morant was efficient on a night where his main offensive counterpart, DeRozan, just wasn’t.

DeRozan still put up 31 points, but it came on just 10-of-29 shooting from the field. Morant came up with around 1.65 points per field goal attempt while DeRozan was barely above 1.0.

All in all, this historic night from Morant for the Grizzlies presents a bigger issue for Donovan and the Bulls. This is a problematic emerging trend that the Bulls are having so much trouble defending top teams such as the Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and Golden State Warriors.

The Bulls don’t have a single win so far this season in multiple tries against the top three teams out of the Western Conference and the other top two teams in the Eastern Conference in the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.

Following this tough six-point loss to Morant and the Grizzlies, the Bulls are sporting a record of 39-22. Next up for DeRozan and the Bulls is a meeting with the Heat on the road on Feb. 28.