Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant had a little extra motivation for Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, and he made it clear why.
“I don’t like them,” Morant said after scoring 20 points in a 131-114 victory at FedExForum. “They took me out of the playoffs. And then last year we had a game, and they came here and blew it up on our court when I was in street clothes. I wasn’t there tonight.”
Morant played only 24 minutes and left in the third quarter with a right hamstring injury. The Grizzlies did not have any updates after the game.
Wednesday’s meeting was the first between the two teams since the penultimate game of the 2023-24 regular season, when James punctuated a 37-point performance with a dunk in the final seconds of a 123-120 victory at Memphis. Morant missed that game after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in January. The year before, the Lakers defeated the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, eliminating them in six games.
Morant hasn’t forgotten it, and he showed it Wednesday night, particularly towards James.
Near the end of the first half, Morant and James went at it, trading baskets, each using the “too small” gesture after scoring in the melee. Morant received a technical foul at one point during the battle as the crowd grew louder with each basket. A good representation of Lakers fans balanced out the enthusiastic Grizzlies faithful.
There was a Morant hook shot and subsequent free throw for a three-point play with 1:24 left in the half. Then, 20 seconds later, James made an 8-foot jumper. Another James layup was followed seven seconds later by another Morant jumper. That basket turned Morant on so much that he earned the technique.
“I think I made ‘too small’ to someone who was too small,” Morant said afterward. “[James] He returned and did so respectfully. …He did it, and I don’t back down from anyone. I don’t care who you are.
“My job was just to come back. I got my bucket and set the tone. My teammates fed off of it and you see what happens. Top dog in our league. You take out the top dog, who are you most afraid of?” . ?”
James put the Morant trade in the category of mutual respect: Only two of the best players in the league go out of their way to be better than each other.
“Just two inner-city guys who love to compete,” said James, who scored a game-high 39 points with seven rebounds and six assists. “That’s how we all grew up, playing on the asphalt, playing outdoors, competing at a high level when there were no cameras around.”
