Ja Morant leaves with a hamstring injury as his old team hands Portland its first loss

Ja Morant's first game against the Memphis Grizzlies went about as badly as it could. He scored 14 points in 23 minutes, then left in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return, and his old team beat Portland 124-103 on Thursday night to stay unbeaten at 5-0.

That is the story Portland has to deal with now. The Blazers came in 3-0 and leave with a loss, a hamstring question on one of their best guards and a quick turnaround at Utah on Saturday.

Memphis, meanwhile, looks like a team that doesn't miss him. Rookie Cameron Boozer had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists for his first career triple-double. The league says only one player has ever recorded one younger than Boozer's 19 years and 103 days. Seven other Grizzlies scored in double figures, led by Isaiah Stewart's 18 off the bench.

The Blazers have a shooting problem to go with the injury. They went 12 of 49 from three, 24 percent, and 17 of 26 from the line. Damian Lillard, who sealed the win over the Lakers one game earlier, shot 3 of 13 and 1 of 9 from deep. Deni Avdija did his job with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Donovan Clingan blocked five shots. It wasn't close to enough.

The game was tied 58-58 at halftime. Memphis broke it open with a 10-0 run late in the third quarter to go up 87-75, the Associated Press reported, and won the fourth 33-20 once the benches emptied. Morant had cut the lead to 96-87 early in the fourth, but Ty Jerome scored on back-to-back possessions to push it back to 12.

Memphis made 18 threes and all 12 of its free throws. Portland made 12 threes all night and missed 37. The Grizzlies also won the rebounding battle 54-45 and committed five fewer turnovers, so there wasn't one place where the Blazers clearly had the better night.

The Grizzlies visit winless Sacramento on Saturday. Portland's next update that matters is the one on Morant's hamstring before the Utah game. Portland can survive one bad shooting night with Lillard, Avdija and Morant on the floor. Losing Morant for any stretch is a harder problem.