Ja Morant, Tyrese Haliburton helped off floor late for Grizzlies, Pacers

A couple of rising guards suffered injuries late in the fourth quarter of victories and had to be helped off the court on Friday night.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant turned his left ankle in Friday’s win over the Thunder, per Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. According to Lang Whitaker of Grind City Media (Twitter link), head coach Taylor Jenkins said Morant “tweaked” the ankle and there will be an update on his status Saturday.

As Tim MacMahon of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Morant missed Sunday’s game against the Wizards after injuring the same ankle last week. Through 13 games, he’s averaging 29.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals for the Grizzlies.

Point guard Tyrese Haliburton also suffered a lower leg injury with less than a minute left in the Pacers‘ victory over Houston, tweets Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. It appeared as though Rockets big man Usman Garuba may have landed on Haliburton’s foot or ankle after contesting his layup.

Through 13 games in his first full season in Indiana, Haliburton is averaging 20.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, a league-leading 10.4 assists and 1.9 steals. The Pacers have been a pleasant surprise early on in the 2022/23 season, currently holding an 8-6 record.