Ja Morant and the Grizzlies stunned by overtime buzzer-beater in Philadelphia
The building froze, then exploded. I watched VJ Edgecombe rise on the right wing in overtime, catch on the kickout, and drill a last-second three that sank Memphis. The horn sounded as the shot fell. The Sixers raced off the bench. The Grizzlies stared at the floor. In a heartbeat, a tense road win turned into a gut punch that will follow Ja Morant and this locker room into the next practice and the next film session.
How it unraveled at the finish
Memphis had chances to close the door. The Grizzlies led late in regulation and had the matchup where they wanted it in overtime, a scramble possession where the ball should have stayed in front. Instead, the defense collapsed to the lane to take away a drive, the rotation arrived a beat late, and Edgecombe made the cleanest look of the night when it mattered most.
This is the kind of ending that lives in the details. Do you use the foul to give. Do you switch the screen at the point of attack. Do you send a second defender to the star and trust your backside help. The Grizzlies chose to shrink the floor. They paid for the extra step toward the paint.
The game turned on one possession, a late rotation, and a shooter who did not blink.
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Morant’s night, and the weight he carries
Ja Morant was the engine for long stretches. He pressured the rim, forced the defense to collapse, and created open looks. His pace set the tone. His drives kept Memphis alive when the Sixers stacked stops. When he gets downhill, the whole game bends.
But late possessions demand balance. Memphis needed both Morant’s burst and a calm half-court plan. You want him drawing two defenders, then spraying the ball to Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. You want quick decisions, strong spacing, and no empty trips. The Grizzlies got some of that, then drifted into tough shots and one-pass possessions. The margin for error was gone.
Philadelphia leaned on Joel Embiid’s gravity and Tyrese Maxey’s speed. That created a tough cover for Memphis all night. You could see it in the rotations. Help arrived early, then the scramble started, and the Sixers kept their poise. Edgecombe’s winner was the final example.
The film will say this
The Grizzlies will see what I saw courtside. They will see smart moments, then small breakdowns that turned into big swings. Memphis can clean this up. The fixes are clear and within reach.
- Communicate the final coverage, then live with it. No half measures.
- Trust the second-side rotation. Sprint to shooters, hands high, no fly-bys.
- On offense, flatten the floor for Ja, then flow into a quick second action.
- Share the clutch load. Bane catch-and-shoot, Jaren on the block, Ja in space.
Decide the crunch-time identity early. Play through it late, no matter the noise.
What must change in crunch time
Memphis needs a tighter two-minute package. Call sets that get Ja downhill without clogging the lane. Angle screens higher to force switches. If teams trap, the short roll must be ready to punish. Jackson should touch the ball in the deep post at least once per trip. Bane should lift from the corner for an instant catch-and-shoot. This is about rhythm, not heroics.
Defensively, the Grizzlies must choose their risk and live with it. If you are taking away Embiid on the block, you cannot over-help off the strong-side shooter. If Maxey beats you with a contested two, so be it. Memphis has the length to bother shots when they stay connected. Tonight they blinked. The Sixers made them pay.
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The culture test now
The room was quiet after the final horn. The message, from leaders and staff, centered on accountability, clarity, and poise. This group has been through storms, suspensions, and injuries. They know who they are supposed to be. Grit and Grind is not a slogan in Memphis, it is a standard. You defend with force, you value the ball, and you deliver under pressure.
The schedule does not slow down. The West is a knife fight again. A loss like this can linger, or it can sharpen a team. Morant sits at the center of that choice. He has the juice to drag a game into his world. Now he must steer the final minutes with a steady hand and a louder voice. That is the next step for a franchise guard who already makes the impossible look easy.
Memphis did not lose its identity tonight. It lost a detail at the worst time. The film will bite. The lesson can help. If the Grizzlies commit to their late-game blueprint, if they trust their shooters and clean up the rotations, this ending will feel like a spark, not a scar. The ball will swing. The defense will hold. And the next time the horn sounds, it will be Ja Morant and the Grizzlies walking off with the last word.
