Grizzlies' Ja Morant takes over, sends Suns to heart-breaking OT loss

Morant's tough jumper tied the game at 137-137, and the Grizzlies went on to beat the Suns in overtime, 151-148. His game-winner was set up by a big missed free throw by Grayson Allen and by Morant making his lone three-pointer of the game in his 12 attempts. If he was only going to make one, he did it at the right time.

In overtime, Phoenix again led by four points with just over a minute to go. But the Suns turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, Brandon Clarke tipped in a Morant miss and Morant made two spectacular plays on one play to seal it.

First Morant tracked down a dangerous pass in his own backcourt, avoiding the Suns' attempts to foul and found rookie Jaylen Wells for a dunk.

The loss dropped the Suns to 2.5 games behind the 10th-place Sacramento Kings and four games behind the Golden State Warriors. Phoenix shot a scorching 21-of-37 on three-pointers, got 23 points from Bol Bol (averaging six points), 21 points from Grayson Allen (averaging 10.8 points) and double-digit assists from both Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — and lost.

It's their ninth loss in their last 11 games, and their 20th road loss of the season, three more road losses than they had all of last season. Now the Suns face a back-to-back with the 15-win New Orleans Pelicans, but at a time when the Pels have won three of their last four with a rejuvenated Zion Williamson.

Tuesday could have been the night the Suns' season turned around. Instead, the game, like their hopes of contending, slipped away.