Ja Morant and Desmond Bane Propel Memphis to Victory in Atlanta

Atlanta is now 12-17 after their loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday night

Two of the NBA's best point guards put on a show tonight in Atlanta. 

Trae Young and Ja Morant, who just recently came back from his 25-game suspension, were the stars of the show tonight at State Farm Arena. Both players showed why they are considered among the NBA's elite, but it was not just those two. Both backcourts had big nights, with Desmond Bane scoring 37 points tonight against the Hawks and Memphis left Atlanta with a win and gave the Hawks their second straight loss and a 12-17 record. 

The injury report was lengthy for the Hawks coming into the day. Dejounte Murray and Onyeka Okongwu were both questionable, but available. Rookie guard Kobe Bufkin was available to play as well. However, De'Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, AJ Griffin, and Mouhamed Gueye were out. It was going to be another short bench tonight for the Hawks. 

Young, Murray, Garrison Matthews, Saddiq Bey, and Clint Capela were the starters for the Hawks. Morant, Bane, Vince Williams, Jaren Jackson Jr, and Bismack Biyombo were the starters for the Grizzlies. 

Dejounte Murray vs the Grizzlies / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

It was a tale of two halves tonight in Atlanta. 

The Hawks looked like a much better team than Memphis in the first half. Atlanta jumped out to a 32-25 lead in the first quarter, with Murray scoring 10 points and Young chipping in six points. Bogdanovic, Okongwu, and rookie Seth Lundy were the guys off the bench. Atlanta shot better than Memphis from the floor, but neither team was doing that well from beyond the three-point line. 

It was a close back-and-forth second quarter, but Atlanta led by 10 at the half. Morant had 16 points but was not getting a lot of help from his teammates. Bane had six points and Jackson Jr had 10, but Morant was the only reliable source of offensive creation. 

That was not the case in the second half. 

Trae Young and Ja Morant / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Bane exploded in the second half, scoring 31 points and finishing with 37 for the game. The backcourt for Memphis was unstoppable in terms of scoring and setting their teammates up and while Young and Murray did not play poorly necessarily, they were outshined by the Grizzlies duo. 

The Hawks led by three after the third quarter, but the final frame belonged to Morant and the Grizzlies. They outscored the Hawks 35-26 in the fourth and the offense for Atlanta could not score down the stretch. Memphis won 125-119. 

Trae Young did have another game of 30 points and 10 assists, his seventh in a row. He finished with 30 points and 13 assists. Murray had 26 points and Capela had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. 

For the game, Atlanta shot 46.9% from the field and 30.2% from three. 

Memphis shot 51.5% from the field and 33.3% from three. Bane had 37 points, Morant 30 and Jackon Jr 20. 

Atlanta will have two days off before facing the Bulls in Chicago on Tuesday. 

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