Morant fires Grizzlies to beat Bucks, Rockets hold off Mavs

Ja Morant’s 12th career triple-double powered the Memphis Grizzlies to a 122-99 NBA victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, while Houston defeated the Dallas Mavericks.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but teammate Damian Lillard was held to four points on 1-for-12 shooting.

Brook Lopez was Milwaukee’s next highest scorer with 12 points as the Bucks dropped their fourth straight game after opening the season with a win over injury-hit Philadelphia.

Morant was the driving force for Memphis, scoring 26 points with 10 rebounds and 14 assists.

“I just came out aggressive and took what the defense gave me,” said Morant, who scored 21 points in the first half to help Memphis build a 70-48 lead.

He got plenty of support as seven Grizzlies players, including all five starters, scored in double figures. Milwaukee never trailed by less than 18 points in the second half.

“Everyone was in a pretty good rhythm, we got it going early,” Morant said after Memphis bounced back from a lethargic loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

“We have stops,” he said. “We were boxing, we were running and playing our game. That’s how we want to play. If we want to do something in this league, we have to do it every night.”

The Bucks are clearly missing the contribution of the injured Khris Middleton, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from an ankle injury.

“I thought we played with the right spirit,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “We didn’t take any shots and you’re going to have nights like that. But on those nights we have to find a way to get stops.”

In Dallas, the Rockets finally got the upper hand over their Texas rivals, leading by as many as 23 points for a 108-102 victory.

Jalen Green scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Rockets, who had lost six of their last seven games against the Mavs.

Green scored 11 in the fourth quarter to help the Rockets fend off a late Dallas surge. Dillon Brooks and Alperen Sengun each added 17 points for Houston, which defeated Dallas 50-37.

Mavs star Luka Doncic scored 15 of his 29 points in the final period as the Mavs pulled within three but could get no closer.

– Wembanyama is beaming –

San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama scored 25 points with nine rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocked shots as the Spurs picked up their second win of the season, 106-88 over the winless Utah Jazz.

It was the second “5×5” match of Wembanyama’s career, with a total of at least five in five statistical categories.

The reigning Rookie of the Year joined Hakeem Olajuwon and Andrei Kirilenko as the only players with multiple career “5×5” games since the league began tracking steals and blocks in 1973.

The Phoenix Suns came through late and erased a 21-point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Clippers 125-119 in Los Angeles.

Devin Booker scored 40 points, Royce O’Neale added 21 off the bench and Kevin Durant scored 18 points for Phoenix, which took its first lead of the game in the fourth quarter after tying the score twice in the third.

The Suns earned their second come-from-behind victory over the Clippers in eight days, winning again at the Intuit Dome after spoiling the Clippers’ first home game in their new arena last week.

James Harden recorded a triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for the Clippers. Norman Powell scored 23 points and Ivica Zubac added 22 and 12 rebounds.

bb/pst