Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant scores the game winning basket, as Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware attempts a block during an NBA game in Miami on Thursday.

MIAMI — It was the sort of moment that Ja Morant craves. He hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer to lift the Memphis Grizzlies past the Miami Heat, then skipped down the court listening to the silence he created.

He was the villain. And he doesn't mind.

"I feel like I've been the villain for the last two years now," Morant said. "Not even just to this crowd."

He hit a step-back jumper in the lane over the 2.13-meter-tall Kel'el Ware at the buzzer to push the visiting Grizzlies past the Heat 110-108 on Thursday night. Morant finished with 30 points, including 27 in the second half.

Desmond Bane contributed 17 points and nine rebounds and Scotty Pippen Jr came off the bench to contribute 17 points and seven assists. Zach Edey grabbed 13 rebounds.

Morant has certainly spent plenty of time in the bad guy role. His ability to take over games was on display Thursday night; the game-winner capped a 30-point night and helped Memphis (45-32) snap a four-game losing streak. That should have been the story.

It wasn't. At least, not the whole story.

Morant's history with guns — real ones and now pretend ones — is a talking point again. He was suspended twice by the NBA in 2023, once for eight games and the other for 25, for showing guns on social media, first in a Denver-area nightclub and then for having one in the passenger seat of a vehicle.

He was criticized this week for making a finger-shooting motion in the direction of the Golden State Warriors' bench, evidently avoiding league sanction because Buddy Hield of the Warriors was doing the same his way. And in Miami on Thursday night, there were more celebrations involving him mimicking the act of shooting a gun toward his own bench after making a 3-pointer. It made headlines.

"I'm well aware," Morant said. "I'm well aware."

He was asked if the criticism bothers him. He indicated that it doesn't.

"I'm kind of used to it," Morant said. "I was pretty much a villain for two years now. Every little thing, if somebody can say something negative about me, it's going to be out there. So, yeah. I don't care no more."

The Grizzlies had nothing negative to say Thursday.

Morant had a tough first half, three points on 1 for 7 shooting. He was 10 for 15 in the second half, getting 27 of his 30 points in that span — including the game winner, a play where he knew exactly what he was going to do for the entire 13.8 seconds of the possession.

"I mean, that's beautiful to watch," said Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo, who got his first win in his fourth attempt since taking over from fired head coach Taylor Jenkins last week. "It gives a lot of confidence, not just for me as a coach, but especially for the whole team, to have a guy like that."

The win lifted Memphis out of the play-in tournament range and back to No 6 — which will be the last guaranteed playoff spot — in the Western Conference.

Morant celebrated afterward, which was to be expected, after he managed to come through in a hostile environment on the road.

"I think anyone would relish that," Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson Jr said. "But him specifically, I think he thrives off that. I mean, I wouldn't boo him. I wouldn't boo him."

Streak ends

Miami (35-42) had its season-best six-game winning streak end with a game that had eight ties and 19 lead changes. Tyler Herro led the Heat with 35 points and nine rebounds, while Bam Adebayo added 26 points and seven boards.

The Grizzlies led 100-95 with 6:13 remaining in the game, following the second of back-to-back putbacks by Morant. Miami fought back and tied the game on two occasions in the final 2:33, once at 103-all on a drive by Adebayo and, again, at 108 apiece with 14 seconds to go, following a 3.4-meter effort from the lane by Herro.

Memphis led for much of the third quarter — mostly behind Morant and Bane — and built its largest advantage (70-62) with 6:35 to go. The Heat recovered, as Herro scored 19 points in the third, and Miami led 85-84 entering the fourth.

The Heat played without Andrew Wiggins (hamstring) and Kevin Love (personal reasons). Duncan Robinson returned after missing the past five games, including Wednesday's win over the Boston Celtics, because of a stomach illness.