NBA: Ja Morant keeps Grizzlies alive as Lakers beaten

MEMPHIS -- Ja Morant led a superb second half rally as the Memphis Grizzlies kept their NBA playoff campaign alive with a 116-99 victory over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Memphis, down 3-1 in the best-of-seven Western Conference series after defeat in game four, looked to be in control after opening up a 17-point lead in the first half in front of their raucous home fans at the FedEx Forum.

But the hosts appeared to be wobbling in the third quarter after the Lakers rallied at the start of the second half to close to within a point of Memphis at 75-74.

Yet that was the cue for Morant to lead a devastating 19-2 run to close the third quarter that effectively sealed victory for the Grizzlies, who led 94-76 heading into the fourth.

Morant finished with 31 points and 10 assists from 13-of-26 shooting while Desmond Bane led the Memphis scoring with 33 points.

Afterwards Morant said the Grizzlies had been inspired by their loud home crowd.

"This is our home floor, our home crowd and we feed off their energy. This is who we do it for," Morant said. "Coming out here and protecting home floor is something we take pride in and something we plan to continue to do."

The Lakers, meanwhile, were left chasing the game after a rare off night from James.

The Lakers superstar – the hero of Monday's epic game-four win in Los Angeles – finished with just 15 points from 5-of-17 shooting, with just one three-pointer from nine attempts.

With James struggling to get going, it was left to Anthony Davis to keep the Lakers in the hunt.

The Los Angeles center finished with 31 points and 19 rebounds.

Game 6 in the series will take place in Los Angeles on Friday.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Grizzlies star Morant accused of punching teen, agent says incident 'self-defense'

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant was accused in police reports last year of punching a 17-year-old, US media reported Wednesday, but his agent saying the rising NBA star acted in self-defense.

No criminal charges were filed against Morant in the incident, which took place during a pickup basketball game at Morant's Tennessee house in July 2022.

In police records obtained by the Washington Post , the unnamed teenaged boy accused Morant of punching him "12-13 times" during a pickup basketball game at Morant's Tennessee house in July 2022.

In interviews with police, the teen said that after their altercation Morant went into his house and "re-emerged with a gun visible in the waistband of his pants."

Morant told police he "swung first" but felt he was acting in self-defense after the teenager threw a basketball that hit him in the head, later making a comment that Morant found threatening.

Morant's agent Jim Tanner strongly denied in a statement issued Wednesday that the player had a gun.

"The July 26 incident was purely self-defense," Tanner said in a statement that was posted on Tandem Sports and Entertainment's Twitter feed.

"Again, this was fully investigated by law enforcement, they came to the decision not to charge Ja with any crime.

"Any of the dozens of witnesses will confirm Ja acted in self-defense and that he did not have a firearm."

Days before that incident, the head of security at a Memphis mall told police he felt "threatened" by Morant and a group of his associates after an incident in the shopping center's parking lot.

Although a police report was made, no charges were filed.

TMZ reported in January that the teenager and his mother had sued Morant, and Tanner called it "disturbing that unsubstantiated rumors and gossip are being put out by people motivated to tear Ja down and tarnish his reputation for their own financial gain."

Morant, the second overall pick in the 2019 draft and a two-time All-Star, was embroiled in controversy in early February, when the NBA investigated allegations by the Indiana Pacers that Morant's entourage "aggressively confronted" members of their traveling party, possibly pointing a red laser at them.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Grizzlies pull away for victory over Clippers

Ja Morant compiled 28 points, five rebounds and five assists and Brandon Clarke keyed a fourth-quarter run that powered the Memphis Grizzlies to a 120-108 defeat of the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

Clarke scored 10 of his 14 points off the bench in the fourth quarter, including eight straight Memphis points during a 15-2 run in the early period that blew the game open.

The Grizzlies pushed the lead to as many as 23 points in the final period. Los Angeles could cut the deficit to no fewer than 12 points.

Four of the five Grizzlies starters scored in double figures. In addition to Morant, Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. both finished with 18 points, and Desmond Bane added 16.

Clarke's effort led a 38-point night from the Memphis reserves.

Los Angeles got 42 points from its bench, led by 15 and 11 from Luke Kennard and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Paul George led all Los Angeles players with 23 points, Reggie Jackson added 18 points with five assists, and Ivica Zubac had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Memphis dominated Los Angeles in the paint, outscoring the Clippers on the interior ,74-36.

The Grizzlies' inside attack translated to a 54.2 percent field-goal rate. Memphis went 11 of 26 (42.3 percent) from 3-point range, keyed by Jackson's 3-of-7 shooting. Los Angeles hit 46.7 percent from the floor, 41 percent from long distance.

Memphis began to gain separation in the third quarter when, holding a one-possession lead, Morant scored 10 points in a stretch lasting about three minutes. The Grizzlies extended their advantage to nine points by the end of the third quarter, setting the stage for their game-changing, fourth-quarter run.

The Grizzlies have won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 1-3. They dropped three straight before blowing out the Houston Rockets 136-102 on Monday.

After winning seven straight games, the Clippers have dropped two of their past three.

-reuters-

NBA: Ja Morant would do dunk contest only for $1M

Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has yet to appear in a dunk contest over NBA All-Star weekend and he's not likely to either, saying in an interview that he would only do it for $1 million.

Morant, 22, made the comments to Bleacher Report in an interview posted to YouTube on Monday.

Morant was not happy with the result of the 2020 contest, believing Aaron Gordon should have won over Derrick Jones Jr.

"Judging, the past two years. I was like, ‘Nah,'" Morant said of why he's not likely to participate. "They give me a mill, I'll go in the dunk contest. Otherwise, I'll be watching, sending out my tweets judging and stuff."

Morant said former players should be judges, adding that they know the criteria the best.

"How many people can actually do this dunk?" Morant said. "Just because people make dunks look easy, it's not. They look at is, ‘That was too easy.' Eight instead of a 10."

He also said the monster dunks being done in games themselves have lessened the impact of the contest.

If he were to participate, Morant said he thinks Zach LaVine, Gordon and a toss-up between Jones Jr. and Zion Williamson would give him a run for his money.

The Grizzlies selected Morant with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. In 130 career games (all starts), he has averages of 18.4 points, 7. 3 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game.

-reuters-