Memphis crushes Portland, spoils Morant’s revenge game

The Memphis Grizzlies didn’t let their former superstar, Ja Morant, have the last laugh.

In a highly anticipated meeting between his former and current teams, the Grizzlies took a road trip to the Moda Center with cruel intentions, pulling off a decisive 124-103 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 29, 2026 (Oct. 30 in Manila), in the ongoing NBA regular season.

Morant, who ended his seven-year tenure with the Grizzlies after a blockbuster trade to Portland, took charge early in the first half, torching his old teammates with his signature floaters and acrobatic layup finishes.

Every time Morant attacked Memphis’ frontcourt rotation with a series of foul-drawing plays, the superstar point guard brought out his old antics from when he was still wearing a Grizzlies jersey, talking smack while flashing the “Call Me” celebration gesture.

However, it was all to no avail when Memphis played with laser focus in the second half, locking down Portland’s perimeter offense while executing its half-court offensive sets to perfection.

The Grizzlies dominated the last two quarters, breaking the 58-all halftime deadlock by outscoring the Trail Blazers 66-45.

Stepping up for Memphis was Rookie of the Year candidate Cameron Boozer, who anchored the Grizzlies’ hot start in the first seven minutes of the third quarter.

Boozer put on a show and capitalized on Portland’s small-ball lineup, feasting inside the paint with a series of crafty jump hooks and bully-ball baskets.

Despite Deni Avdija’s personal scoring run that helped Portland pull within six points, Memphis’ well-balanced attack became the story of the fourth quarter as Ty Jerome, Cedric Coward, Isaiah Stewart and GG Jackson joined forces to fuel a decisive run midway through the period.

That surge helped the Grizzlies build a commanding lead, forcing Portland to call timeouts while dealing with Morant’s hamstring injury.

With 7:46 remaining, Morant exited the game after experiencing discomfort in his left hamstring and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.

Without Morant’s offensive firepower and with Damian Lillard struggling from the field, the Grizzlies held the fort and maintained their pace, preventing Portland from staging a dramatic comeback like its previous win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boozer was a man on a mission, tallying a triple-double for the Grizzlies with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, becoming the youngest NBA player to record a triple-double in a win.

Aside from Boozer, Stewart also stepped up off the bench with 18 points and three rebounds, while Coward and Zach Edey added 17 and 13 points, respectively.

On the other hand, Morant finished the game with 14 points, three assists and two rebounds before exiting, but leading the Trail Blazers in scoring was Avdija, who delivered 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Lillard, who had scored in double digits since opening night, was held to just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting, his worst shooting performance of the season so far.