Ja Morant was turning the corner.

The Memphis Grizzlies star was playing his best basketball of the season, scoring at least 20 points in each of his last 10 games. He scored a season-high 44 points in his last game on March 14 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Then, another injury. Morant will miss his sixth consecutive game on Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a hamstring strain.

Morant initially popped up on the injury report after the game against the Cavs with hamstring soreness. Ahead of Thursday’s matchup against the Thunder Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said that Morant is in the “day-to-day phase” of a return.

“It was something that happened in the game,” Jenkins said. “It was kind of what came out of the Cleveland game. . . . He’s making a lot of great progress. He’s working his tail off to get back out there. We’re excited to get him back out there. He is, too.”

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Morant is averaging 22.3 points and 7.4 assists in 43 games played. The Grizzlies (44-28) are 28-15 when Morant plays this season.

In six March games, Morant has averaged 31.3 points and 7.7 assists.

The Grizzlies will have nine games remaining this season after Thursday. Memphis will play three teams currently projected to make playoffs in its next three games.

That stretch starts with a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network).

Having Morant in the lineup would be a strong boost. He’s going through the Grizzlies’ return-to-play protocol with hopes of returning soon.

“He’s been progressing in his on-court workouts,” Jenkins said. “It’s a matter of hitting top-end speeds to make sure that hamstring is in a good place when he’s comfortable enough to return.”

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at [email protected]. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.