For the second time in as many games, Ja Morant had just about blown the roof off FedExForum.

The Grizzlies, trailing against the Knicks after a Jalen Brunson 3-pointer, had speed-dialed their superstar and he’d answered on the first ring. Morant had stutter-stepped, driven past Mikal Bridges and then waited for Bridges to recover. He’d taken the contact, gone up with his right hand and hit the shot. After pausing for his “Call 12” celebration like he did against the Suns on Tuesday, he’d hit the free throw to give the Grizzlies a one point lead.

Now, with 14.4 seconds to play, Memphis had to get a stop. Vince Williams Jr. was guarding Brunson, but a screen off the inbounds pass forced Morant to switch on to him. Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins told Williams to leave Josh Hart and double Brunson, who was driving to his right.

But Williams stepped up toward halfcourt and Brunson went further right, putting both Morant and Williams behind him. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama had to collapse into the paint. Jackson’s man — Karl-Anthony Towns — stood behind him in the short corner, reachable only by a low-percentage lob. But OG Anunoby had rotated to the wing, just behind the 3-point line and a ways away from Aldama.

When Brunson had twisted in midair and put the ball on Anunoby, Aldama’s feet were still touching the paint.

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“Just a miscommunication,” Williams said. “At least it wasn’t at the rim.”

Said Jenkins: “I saw Brunson attacking. This is when he usually takes over. I saw him driving, I saw Hart cut to the paint and I told Vince to go help. And he ended up beating us single side and kicking out and hitting a three. Going back, I’m going to beat myself up about that one. But when they had 1-4 flat on the baseline and you’ve got a guy that’s going to kill you in the midrange, made a call and he made a play.”

Anunoby put it in. Morant put his hands on his head.

A few seconds of game time later, his left-handed layup attempt rolled off the rim and the Knicks left with a 114-113 win.

“Same play you seen the other night,” Morant said. “I just missed the layup.”

It was a frustrating loss for the Grizzlies, who led after the first three quarters and seemed primed to get revenge after an embarrassing 37-point loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden last month. Morant scored 25 points, while Desmond Bane and Zach Edey both recorded double-doubles. But Anunoby’s shot ultimately doomed the home team.

The final 14.4 seconds don’t tell the whole story, of course. The Grizzlies were up by six points at the end of the third quarter when Morant launched the ball the length of the court and into the stands. He was assessed a technical foul because it was not considered a “legitimate shot attempt,” according to the postgame pool report.

Anunoby made the ensuing free throw, and the Knicks erased the deficit within two minutes. The game was close from that point on to the end, but the Knicks scored last.

“It was kind of just a dogfight,” said Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells, who spent most of his night guarding Brunson. “Usually we’re scoring 120-plus, so it came down to just who was going to get hot first. And we were going back and forth.”

It’s remarkable that the Grizzlies were that close because of what they did from beyond the arc. Memphis was 4-for-31 (12.9 percent) on 3 pointers. And the Grizzlies turned the ball over 18 times; New York had only eight.

“Everybody’s going to look at the final possessions, but we didn’t shoot the ball well,” Bane said. “Too many turnovers once again. And just couldn’t finish it down the stretch.”

Jenkins said he “loved” the 3-point looks, and many of them were open. Morant was 0-for-6, while Bane and Luke Kennard were each 0-for-4.

There were encouraging signs and concerning signs, but there won’t be much time to unpack it. The Grizzlies are back in action on Saturday when they host the Spurs.

“I thought we played hard, played well for the most part,” Bane said. “But didn’t do enough to win.”

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at [email protected] or on X @thejonahdylan.