After making a strong impact in his return from a six-game absence in Sunday¡¯s 126-109 win over the Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant made it clear he wants to stay with the team.

¡°I¡¯ve got a (Grizzlies) logo ?on my back, so that should ?tell you ?exactly where I want to be,¡± ?Morant said after the game. ¡°If anybody in (the locker room) knows me, I¡¯m a very loyal guy.¡±

Morant scored a game-high 24 points in his first contest back, making 7 of 13 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 on 3-point attempts. He ?also tied his season high with 13 assists.

Morant, the subject of trade rumors, ?had been ?sidelined since Jan. 2 with ?a right calf contusion and has been limited ?to ?19 of the team¡¯s 41 games due to injuries.

Morant¡¯s contract, a five-year, $197 million deal, expires after the 2027-28 season. He¡¯s eligible for a three-year, $178 million extension next summer.

Without signing him to an extension, any team taking on Morant at the February trade deadline would owe him ?the ?balance of his existing deal: the remainder of his $39.4 million salary for the current ?season, $42.2 million next season and $44.9 million for 2027-28.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Morant is playing fewer minutes this season, ?averaging a career-low 28.3 to go with 19 points and 7.6 assists per game.

Morant, 26, has career averages of 22.4 points, 7.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds and one steal per game.

¡°It felt good,¡± he said of stepping back on the court. ¡°Especially to be able to do this ¡ª first time playing a real overseas game ... I needed it.¡±

Excitement was high for league¡¯s 10th regular-season game in London, and the first since 2019, although transatlantic tensions flared when a lone heckler yelled ¡°Leave Greenland Alone¡± during Vanessa Williams¡¯ pregame performance of the U.S. national anthem in a dig at U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s plan to seize control of the autonomous Danish territory.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 33, seizing control with 40 points in the first quarter.

Memphis has lately made a habit of letting double-digit leads get away, including squandering a 20-point first-half advantage in a loss to Orlando in Berlin on Thursday.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Morant¡¯s energy was a key to preventing the Magic from making a similar comeback on Sunday.

¡°His speed, his intensity, his energy level, when he gets on the court he¡¯s a tough guard,¡± Mosley said. ¡°He¡¯s a lightning bolt getting downhill.¡±