Ja Morant Touted as Superior Player to Zion Williamson After Grizzlies Beat Pelicans

Ja Morant and Zion Williamson went head-to-head Friday, and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 132-111 at FedExForum in a battle of the top two picks in the 2019 NBA draft.

Morant outdueled Williamson to lead the Grizzlies to victory, finishing with 23 points, four rebounds and 11 assists in 28 minutes. Williamson notched 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 30 minutes.

Memphis did get a more complete effort from its players, with Jaren Jackson Jr., Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams, Brandon Clarke and David Roddy all putting up double digits in scoring, but Grizzlies Twitter touted Morant as being superior to Williamson following the win.

Morant is in the midst of another impressive season. The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year entered Friday's game averaging 28.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 15 games while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor and 38.9 percent from deep.

Williamson, who has dealt with his fair share of injuries over his NBA career—including missing all of last season after having surgery on his right fifth metatarsal—is also having a solid year.

Entering Friday's game, he was averaging 23.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 13 games while shooting 58.0 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from deep.

The Grizzlies moved to 11-8 on the season with the win, while the Pelicans dropped to 11-8.