The Memphis Grizzlies beat the New Orleans Pelicans 141-114 at FedExForum in Memphis on Saturday to secure their 56th win of the season, tying the franchise record for the regular season.

The Grizzlies saw their young ace Ja Morant return from a tweaked knee in Saturday's game and score 21 points and nine assists in less than 27 minutes. In fact, he played longer than any other teammate on the floor because the win came too easily for the home team.

The Grizzlies started the game 30-18 in the first quarter and then extended their lead to 17 points (64-47) after the first half. The Pelicans finally found their form on offense in the second half and scored 33 points in the third quarter alone. However, the Grizzlies responded with 55 points, making the game a foregone conclusion.

Desmond Bane and Brandon Clark were both perfect from the floor for a combined 21 points in the third quarter for the Grizzlies. The whole team shot 7-for-10 from downtown and only missed two of their 15 attempts in the paint in the third quarter.

"Being out there with my team is something I've been waiting on since March 19," Morant said. "I was finally able to do that. Excited to be out there. Had a lot of fun. Just preparing for this stretch we're about to go on in the playoffs."

The last time the Grizzlies pocketed 56 wins was the 2012-13 season. They knocked out the talented Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder back then to reach the Western Conference Finals, in which they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

As the Spurs lost to the Golden State Warriors 100-94 at AT&T Center on the same day, the Pelicans secured the ninth spot in the West and will host the Spurs at home, Smoothie King Center, in their first play-in tournament game on April 13. The other Western play-in tournament game will happen between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers at Target Center on April 12.

Joel Embiid secures scoring title

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Indiana Pacers 133-120 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday to reach 50 wins.

Joel Embiid dropped 41 points, a season-high 20 rebounds and four assists for the 76ers in Saturday's game. Having averaged 30.6 points per game this season, he basically sealed the scoring title. The last time a center won this honor was Shaquille O'Neal in the 1999-20 season but even he didn't reach 30 points per game (29.7). However, O'Neal in 2000 was the last scoring leader who won the championship in the end. None of the following scoring champions has ever reached the throne since then.

Embiid became the sixth center in NBA history to average 30 or more points in the regular season. The other five were Wilt Chamberlain (seven times), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (three times), Bob McAdoo (three times), Walt Bellamy (once) and Moses Malone (once). Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar both won two NBA MVPs during those seasons. McAdoo and Malone each had one.

"I've always said that every single night, I want to dominate," Embiid said. "If you are dominating, things can show up in a lot of different ways – whether it is offensively or defensively. Sometimes, the numbers don't show it. But it's good, I guess."

Embiid is still competing for the MVP award with Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, who is currently leading the race. But now, Embiid must focus on who he and his team will face in the postseason. The 76ers are 50-31 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. They share the same record with the Boston Celtics but hold the tiebreaker. Both have one more game to play on Sunday. If the 76ers finish the regular season in fourth place, they will face the Toronto Raptors in the first round. If they are third, their opponent will be the Chicago Bulls.

The last time the 76ers reached the NBA Finals was in the 2000-01 season, led by scoring champion and NBA MVP Allen Iverson. The last time the 76ers won the championship was in the 1982-83 season, led by NBA MVP Moses Malone.|

The Pacers' record fell to 25-56 after Saturday's loss, the fifth worst of the league. They will undoubtedly finish the regular season as 13th in the East. According to NBA draft lottery rules, the bottom three teams of the league share the best chance (14 percent) to get the first-overall pick. The Pacers won't be one of them, but they are also not starting from scratch.

Via a mid-season trade, the Pacers sent away Domantas Sabonis and acquired Tyrese Haliburton, who will pair with Myles Turner to be the new core of the team. Rookie Chris Duarte has shown the potential to become a quality piece of a competitive squad. If the Pacers operate well with the assets they have, including Buddy Hield, T.J. Warren, Malcolm Brogdon and their first-round pick, their rebuilding can be faster than many expect.

In the fourth game on Saturday, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Sacramento Kings 117-98 at Crypto.com Arena. The result doesn't change anything.

"I've not talked to anybody about that and I'm sure that's going to come quickly after the season is over, so I'll leave it at that," Kings interim head coach Alvin Gentry said of his future with the team. "I'm sure that's something that's going to happen pretty quickly after the season."