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‘Out of this damn world’: Ja Morant stuns NBA with ‘absurd’ highlight plays

NBA young gun Ja Morant had every fan’s jaw firmly on the floor with two insane plays that are going straight on his highlight reel.

Ja Morant stunned NBA fans with two insane plays.
Ja Morant stunned NBA fans with two insane plays.

NBA young gun Ja Morant has sent fans absolutely berserk with two ridiculous highlight plays on Tuesday (AEDT).

Morant has had a breakout third season in the league, leading his Memphis Grizzlies to third place in the Western Conference standings on the back of his remarkable athleticism.

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He turned it on once again in the Grizzlies’ clash with the San Antonio Spurs, exploding at the end of the first half with two insane plays in as many minutes.

First, Morant received the ball on the fast break and launched himself over the top of 213 cm Spurs centre Jakob Poeltl, posterising the Austrian with an epic one-handed slam dunk.

Moments later, Memphis big man Steven Adams threw a hail Mary inbound pass the length of the court to find Morant in the corner.

With only 0.4 seconds left on the clock, Morant miraculously caught the ball and quickly tossed up an extremely difficult mid-air fadeaway shot and it somehow went in.

Ja Morant is an athletic freak. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Ja Morant is an athletic freak. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
He straight up destroyed Jakob Poetl. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
He straight up destroyed Jakob Poetl. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Basketball fans were equally stunned by both plays. Many labelled Morant’s dunk one of the best in-game slams ever, while his insane buzzer beater had everyone’s jaw firmly on the floor — watch it in the video player above.

Grizzlies TV host Jessica Benson tweeted: “So to summarise the first half: Ja Morant bodied 7-foot Jakob Poeltl, is 4-4 from three including a catch and shoot falling buzzer beater, added another million highlights to his tape and is truly out of this damn world.”

SB Nation’s Dave Zirin said: “Ja Morant in the last two minutes just gave us the dunk of the year and the shot of the year. On another planet.”

Sports columnist Mark Gianotto added: “That might be the greatest 2 mins of Ja Morant’s career so far.”

In the first half Morant scored 29 points, including four three-pointers on perfect shooting from beyond the arc. He finished with a career-high 52 points as the Grizzlies ran out 118-105 winners.

Memphis is now only one win behind the second-placed Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/american-sports/nba/out-of-this-damn-world-ja-morant-stuns-nba-with-absurd-highlight-plays/news-story/46c553e2bbeb33b312d51061fc7f6cc0