MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant hit a double crossover to start his drive. He stopped and leapt from the paint into the air, his arm fired back, parallel with the ground.
For a split-second, Morant appeared to be in slow motion as he reached the apex of his ascent. Then, Ja hit play.
His right arm unleashed like a catapult over Pacers center Jalen Smith, before flushing what Morant called his third-quarter show-stopper the best dunk in his poster-filled career.
The Grizzlies topped the Pacers 130-112 in Indianapolis to win their ninth straight, edging closer to the franchise-record 11-game win streak set last year.
This marks Morant's second dunk-of-the-year submission of the week. The Grizzlies superstar dropped the hammer on Spurs center Jakob Poeltl for the second-straight season on Wednesday night. That led to healthy debates about which of his Poeltl takedowns were better. Saturday night's slam put both to shame.
Desmond Bane had a game-high 25 points while playing in his home state of Indiana. He hit five triples with scores of family and friends in the building. Morant contributed 23 points and 10 assists.
The Grizzlies return to FedExForum on Monday to play the Phoenix Suns in their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day game. Grizzlies-Suns tips off at 5:00pm on TNT.
