Memphis Grizzlies – Phoenix Suns · NBA

Win probability changed during the game. · 27 December 2021

MEM114–113PHX

Is it worth watching?

Recommended

It was more exciting than 79% of NBA games since 2017

· It was still open in the final minutes
· The win probability swung between the two teams 18 times

It measures how much the win probability moved during the game —without looking at who won or at the score— and compares it with the 10,950 NBA games with a curve since 2017. “Highly recommended” is the most intense 20%, “recommended” runs from 50% to 80%, and “skippable” is the rest. Source: ESPN.

↑ PHX winsMEM wins ↓

Home team's win probability across the game (source: ESPN). The band rises when PHX leads and falls when MEM does.

This is how the game was decided.

Ja Morant decided it, the Memphis Grizzlies player with the most points (33, with 4 rebounds and 4 assists; +15 with him on the floor). The criterion: the winner's points in the box score; plus-minus says who was on the floor when the game opened up.

The game-winner in Phoenix Suns 113-114 Memphis Grizzlies (December 27, 2021) was hit by Ja Morant: a layup with 0.5 s left in the fourth quarter, putting the Memphis Grizzlies up 114-113. They never trailed again.

The biggest run of Phoenix Suns 113-114 Memphis Grizzlies (December 27, 2021) was a 11-0 run by the Phoenix Suns in the fourth quarter (from 9:55 to 7:27), from 80-94 to 91-94. The Memphis Grizzlies' best was a 9-0 run in the first quarter (from 8:45 to 6:11), from 8-6 to 17-6.

▸See where these figures come from

Play: Ja Morant makes driving layup.

I count as the game-winner the basket that puts the winning team ahead for good. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

A run here is consecutive points by one team without the opponent scoring. Source: the official NBA play-by-play (since 2002-03) and each team's official box scores.

Source: the game's official box score and play-by-play.

Ja Morant decided this game: his points put his team ahead with 0.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the opponent never led again.

It is one of the 7 games he has decided this way in the NBA since the 2002-03 season.

His profile shows the games Morant decided

▸See where these figures come from

A game is decided by the last basket that puts a team ahead in the final ten seconds of the fourth quarter or of an overtime, if that team wins.

27 December 2021 · The source is the ESPN play-by-play, play espn:401360324:690; the date is the one on the NBA box score.

Rotations · who was on the floor

Closing lineup · MEM

Bane · Morant · Adams · Jackson · Anderson

Closing lineup · PHX

Booker · Johnson · Paul · Bridges · Smith

Q1Q2Q3Q4

MEM

Desmond Bane

37′ · +3

John Konchar

34′ · +3

Ja Morant

34′ · +15

Steven Adams

31′ · +14

Jaren Jackson Jr.

29′ · +4

Kyle Anderson

23′ · -7

Killian Tillie

19′ · -3

Xavier Tillman

5′ · -5

Tyus Jones

18′ · -12

Brandon Clarke

11′ · -7

PHX

Devin Booker

37′ · -8

Cameron Johnson

36′ · 0

Chris Paul

35′ · -5

Mikal Bridges

32′ · -15

JaVale McGee

22′ · -17

Jalen Smith

29′ · +19

Cameron Payne

24′ · +8

Landry Shamet

14′ · +16

Elfrid Payton

9′ · -3

Each bar is a stint on the floor (source: NBA). The number is minutes played and the team's +/− with him on the court. MEM and PHX.

These lineups played the most minutes together.

Memphis Grizzlies

Jackson, Morant, Konchar, Bane, and Adams played 14.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 17 points.
Morant, Konchar, Bane, Adams, and Anderson played 7.2 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Morant, Tillie, Bane, Adams, and Anderson played 5.8 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 4 points.

Phoenix Suns

Paul, Booker, Bridges, Johnson, and McGee played 9.8 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 12 points.
Paul, Booker, Bridges, Johnson, and Smith played 6.7 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 3 points.
Booker, Payne, Shamet, Johnson, and Smith played 4.1 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 9 points.

▸See every lineup of the game

Memphis Grizzlies

Jones, Jackson, Clarke, Konchar, and Bane played 3.8 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 8 points.
Jones, Jackson, Clarke, Tillie, and Konchar played 3.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Jones, Jackson, Clarke, Konchar, and Anderson played 3.1 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.
Jones, Morant, Tillie, Adams, and Anderson played 2.8 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 2 points.
Jones, Tillie, Tillman, Bane, and Anderson played 1.7 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Jones, Jackson, Tillie, Konchar, and Tillman played 1.6 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 5 points.
Morant, Tillie, Tillman, Bane, and Anderson played 1.4 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 1 point.

Phoenix Suns

Paul, Payne, Johnson, McGee, and Payton played 3.2 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Paul, Payne, Shamet, Johnson, and Smith played 3.1 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 8 points.
Paul, Booker, Bridges, Shamet, and Smith played 2.9 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Booker, Payne, Johnson, Smith, and Payton played 2.8 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 2 points.
Booker, Payne, Bridges, Smith, and McGee played 2.2 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Booker, Payne, Bridges, Johnson, and McGee played 2.2 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 5 points.
Paul, Booker, Payne, Bridges, and McGee played 2.0 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Paul, Booker, Payne, Bridges, and Smith played 1.8 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Paul, Bridges, Shamet, Johnson, and Smith played 1.8 minutes together.
Their team tied that stretch.
Paul, Bridges, Johnson, McGee, and Payton played 1.3 minutes together.
Their team lost that stretch by 1 point.
Paul, Booker, Bridges, Smith, and McGee played 1.2 minutes together.
Their team won that stretch by 3 points.

▸See where these figures come from

The lineups come from the NBA's official rotation: who was on the floor and when. Each lineup's plus-minus is worked out from every player's stints and is only shown when they all add up with each other and with the final score.

John Konchar covered 4.47 km, more than anyone in the game.

Chris Paul touched the ball 84 times, a game high.
Chris Paul made 63 passes, a game high.
Steven Adams had 22 rebound chances, a game high.

▸See what was measured for each player

Memphis Grizzlies

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
John Konchar	4.47	7.3	45	40
Desmond Bane	4.42	6.7	68	41
Ja Morant	4.01	6.6	74	40
Steven Adams	3.72	6.6	45	33
Jaren Jackson Jr.	3.46	6.7	24	10
Kyle Anderson	2.69	6.5	35	25
Killian Tillie	2.32	6.8	24	18
Tyus Jones	2.12	6.5	37	26
Brandon Clarke	1.26	7.2	15	9
Xavier Tillman	0.58	6.8	13	10

Phoenix Suns

Player	km	km/h	Touches	Passes
Devin Booker	4.38	6.5	57	26
Cameron Johnson	4.36	6.6	50	33
Mikal Bridges	4.17	7.2	27	22
Chris Paul	3.72	5.8	84	63
Jalen Smith	3.59	6.8	36	21

The figures come from the NBA's optical tracking (NBA.com) for this game; speed is each player's average while on the floor.

Who stood out on defense during the season

These figures cover the whole 2021-22 regular season, not this game.

Memphis Grizzlies

Jaren Jackson Jr. defended 5.1 shots at the rim per game over his 78 games, and opponents made 14 fewer out of every 100 than usual.
He ranks 2 of 131 in the league.
Ja Morant recovered 1.1 loose balls per game over his 57 games.
He ranks 12 of 386 in the league.
Steven Adams contested 9.0 shots per game over his 76 games.
He ranks 26 of 386 in the league.

Phoenix Suns

Chris Paul deflected 2.7 passes per game over his 65 games.
He ranks 18 of 386 in the league.
Devin Booker recovered 1.0 loose balls per game over his 68 games.
He ranks 21 of 386 in the league.
JaVale McGee defended 4.2 shots at the rim per game over his 74 games, and opponents made 11 fewer out of every 100 than usual.
He ranks 9 of 131 in the league.

Hustle figures come from the hustle stats the NBA publishes (NBA.com) and rim defense comes from its tracking; both cover the regular season. For each player in this game we show the figure that ranks him highest in the league, and for each team, the three best ranked. Ranks count players with at least 30 games and, at the rim, at least 4 defended shots per game.

The Phoenix Suns have won 48 of their 93 games against the Memphis Grizzlies.

48-45record of the Phoenix Suns · NBA 2001-02 – 2025-26, regular season and playoffs

2-1in 2025-26

See the full head-to-head in the Analyst

See where it comes from

Official NBA box scores, regular season and playoffs, 2001-02 – 2025-26. It counts every game between the two teams that the house holds, this one included.

SportiveWorld knows much more about this game

Game context

Attendance

17.071

100% of capacity

Mortgage Matchup Center · Phoenix

Scoring

227

combined points

5.8 above the season average (221.2)

⚖️ The last two minutes

Official NBA L2M report: every call in the endgame, reviewed by the league.

31 calls reviewed4 errors admitted by the NBA

Turnover: Traveling · 00:03.7

Ja Morant → Suns

Morant (MEM) establishes his left foot as his pivot foot and he slides his pivot foot at the start of his dribble.

Turnover: 24 Second Violation · 00:08.1

Grizzlies → Suns

A shot clock violation is called on Memphis, however, the ball makes contact with the rim during the shot attempt. This violation should have been reviewed.

Foul: Loose Ball · 00:09.8

Steven Adams → Jalen Smith

Adams (MEM) grabs and holds Smith's (PHX) left arm during rebounding, affecting Smith's ability to secure the loose ball.

Foul: Loose Ball · 00:35.7

Chris Paul → Desmond Bane

Paul (PHX) and Booker (PHX) initiate contact across Bane's (MEM) left and right arm, respectively, and affect Bane's ability to retrieve the loose ball.