Terry Rozier's 33 points not enough as Hornets fall to Ja Morant, Grizzlies

Ja Morant, the No. 2 overall pick, hit a game-winning lay-up with 0.7 seconds left to give the Memphis Grizzlies a win over the Charlotte Hornets.

CHARLOTTE -- Through 11 games this NBA season, the Charlotte Hornets have proven to be incapable of defending the painted area. They allow 56.2 points in the paint per-game, a mark that is the worst in the league. On Wednesday night in the Spectrum Center, their lack of interior defense bit them in the butt again.

Ja Morant, the skinny No. 2 overall draft pick out of Murray State, slithered through the Hornets' defense and made his way into the paint with the clock ticking down. The Memphis Grizzlies' rookie got by Cody Martin, avoided Cody Zeller and eluded Miles Bridges to hit a lay-up with 0.7 seconds left. He adjusted his arm sleeve, flexed, mouthed something to the fans sitting behind the baseline and got some love from his pops who was sitting court-side.

Morant's shot proved to be the game-winner and the Grizzlies grabbed a 119-117 victory over the Hornets in front of an announced crowd of 13,155 fans, a smattering of which were wearing Grizzly blue, to support the kid from South Carolina they call Ja.

"It definitely felt good," Morant said of the game-winner. "It was just, coach called the play call, they switched it and I just attacked... I definitely heard the support. I was focused on the game, but to have them come out and show the support here two hours away -- that's love."

The late-game heroics by Morant overshadowed a stellar night for Terry Rozier, who tied a career-high in scoring by racking up 33 points for the Hornets (4-7). Rozier also had six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Bridges also turned in a solid performance for the Hornets, notching 14 points, four rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Malik Monk added 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

"Malik was aggressive. I think he felt the responsibility for that bench to score," Hornets' head coach James Borrego said of Monk. "He made good reads, good plays... There's real growth there. He's one of our best decision-makers this year."

Still, none of their efforts were enough to topple the Grizzlies (4-7). Morant totaled 23 points, 11 assists, a steal and a rebound. It was the first double-double of Morant's pro career, and his final shot was his first game-winner.

Also for the Grizzlies, Jonas Valanciunas added a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards.

The Hornets outscored the Grizzlies in every quarter except the fourth. Charlotte led by as many as 12 points, but that came after they fell behind 14-4 to start the game. While Memphis connected on 17-of-35 three-pointers, they continued to hurt Charlotte inside, scoring 58 points in the paint. The Grizzlies also won the rebounding battle 45-35.

"We just have to learn how to play a full 48 minutes," Hornets' center Cody Zeller said. "I think it was a bigger issue that we were up 12, kind of took a deep breath and let them back in it."

Highlights

Notes

• Zeller racked up 16 points and eight rebounds. With those boards, he brought his career rebounding total to 2,177, putting him past Alonzo Mourning and moving him into eighth place on the franchise's leader-board.
• Devonte' Graham started the first game of his NBA career, replacing an injured Dwayne Bacon (right knee). The second-year guard out of Kansas finished with 19 points.