The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies twice last season, once in March and once in April. Superstar guard Ja Morant was injured last season, but he jawed with LeBron James and the Lakers as they came in and dominated in Memphis and stole a game at the end of the season.
Ja and the Grizzlies seemed to have a chip on their shoulder last night, dominant from start to finish, defeating James and the Lakers 131-114.
James became the sixth player to play in 1500 regular season games. Morant finished the game with 20 points, four rebounds, five assists, complimented by a block and a steal through three quarters. A hamstring injury slowed Morant down, but that did not slow down Memphis.
Shooting 50% from beyond the arc was seen as the differencemaker in this game for Memphis. Guard Jaylen Wells and Forward Jarren Jackson both scored 20 points. Los Angeles struggled to make 31% of their attempts beyond the arc. James did not disappoint, finishing the game with 39 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. The Grizzlies moved to .500, and Morant told the media after the game how much he disliked the Lakers and where it stemmed from.
“I don’t like ’em. They knocked me out of the playoffs and then last year, we had a game and they came in here and beat us on our home floor when I was winning street clothes. I wasn’t tonight… I didn’t get to play last year, they were laughing, playing, looking at me, and talking. I was in street clothes, this was my first opportunity to play against them.”
Morant and company did not disappoint. James and Morant had a heated moment in the game last night, calling each other too small. James responded to Morant doing it first, and Morant didn’t back down from James. He mentioned it in his post-game presser.
“I think I did the too small to somebody and then he came back and did it respectfully. He’s 6’8″, I would’ve expected it, though I thought that was a charge. He did it and I don’t back down from nobody, don’t care who you are. My job was to just come back and I got my bucket. Just set the tone for my teammates, they feed off it, and you see the results.”
James said after the game that Morant’s passion is inspirational.
“The energy alone, the inspiration that he gives to the younger generation alone was huge for our league and it’s great to have him back out there for sure.”
The Memphis Grizzlies visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, November 13. Maybe a nationally televised game on ESPN will garner the viewers.
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