Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA &mdash; his second ban in four months &mdash; and Commissioner Adam Silver made clear Friday the star must stop his &ldquo;alarming&rdquo; habit of flashing guns on social media.
The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-longest-suspensions-league-history-3531e8f0d418a87403a0dea23c81e73a">suspension for the upcoming season</a>&nbsp;comes a month after a second video of Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-nba-investigation-gun-7fe15dae343f85d0366a4c959d5313b3">flashing a handgun</a>&nbsp;was streamed online. The video of Morant showing a gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car was posted after his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">eight-game suspension</a>&nbsp;in March for a video in which he flashed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.
Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game &mdash; or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.
Silver made clear the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-suspension-ja-morant-grizzlies-timeline-2ae7769a4a9b45efc97d6746ca55c049">two-time All-Star&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;decision-making is &ldquo;disconcerting.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The potential for other young people to emulate Ja&rsquo;s conduct is particularly concerning,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA &mdash; his second ban in four months &mdash; and Commissioner Adam Silver made clear Friday the star must stop his &ldquo;alarming&rdquo; habit of flashing guns on social media.
The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-longest-suspensions-league-history-3531e8f0d418a87403a0dea23c81e73a">suspension for the upcoming season</a>&nbsp;comes a month after a second video of Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-nba-investigation-gun-7fe15dae343f85d0366a4c959d5313b3">flashing a handgun</a>&nbsp;was streamed online. The video of Morant showing a gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car was posted after his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">eight-game suspension</a>&nbsp;in March for a video in which he flashed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.
Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game &mdash; or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.
Silver made clear the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-suspension-ja-morant-grizzlies-timeline-2ae7769a4a9b45efc97d6746ca55c049">two-time All-Star&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;decision-making is &ldquo;disconcerting.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The potential for other young people to emulate Ja&rsquo;s conduct is particularly concerning,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.&rdquo;
The league said Morant &ldquo;will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games&rdquo; during his suspension.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant indefinitely from team activities after the second video surfaced, and they said Friday they respect the punishment for this &ldquo;latest episode.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them,&rdquo; the Grizzlies said.
Morant apologized again Friday to the league, the Grizzlies, his teammates and the city of Memphis in a statement issued through his representatives. He specifically told Silver, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman he is sorry.
&nbsp;

Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA &mdash; his second ban in four months &mdash; and Commissioner Adam Silver made clear Friday the star must stop his &ldquo;alarming&rdquo; habit of flashing guns on social media.
The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-longest-suspensions-league-history-3531e8f0d418a87403a0dea23c81e73a">suspension for the upcoming season</a>&nbsp;comes a month after a second video of Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-nba-investigation-gun-7fe15dae343f85d0366a4c959d5313b3">flashing a handgun</a>&nbsp;was streamed online. The video of Morant showing a gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car was posted after his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">eight-game suspension</a>&nbsp;in March for a video in which he flashed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.
Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game &mdash; or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.
Silver made clear the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-suspension-ja-morant-grizzlies-timeline-2ae7769a4a9b45efc97d6746ca55c049">two-time All-Star&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;decision-making is &ldquo;disconcerting.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The potential for other young people to emulate Ja&rsquo;s conduct is particularly concerning,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.&rdquo;
The league said Morant &ldquo;will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games&rdquo; during his suspension.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant indefinitely from team activities after the second video surfaced, and they said Friday they respect the punishment for this &ldquo;latest episode.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them,&rdquo; the Grizzlies said.
Morant apologized again Friday to the league, the Grizzlies, his teammates and the city of Memphis in a statement issued through his representatives. He specifically told Silver, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman he is sorry.
The guard with his own signature Nike shoe also apologized to children who look up to him for failing them as a role model. Morant made clear he&rsquo;s had time to reflect and understands the hurt he might have caused.
&ldquo;I promise I&rsquo;m going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I&rsquo;m going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I&rsquo;m going to make it up to you, I promise,&rdquo; Morant said.
Morant said he&rsquo;ll keep working on both his mental health and decision-making.
On May 24, police&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/morant-memphis-grizzlies-instagram-gun-welfare-check-a03aea74ced1bdcd6bd4c55500ca1ea6">conducted a welfare check</a>&nbsp;on Morant and said he was &ldquo;fine&rdquo; after cryptic messages appeared on the guard&rsquo;s Instagram account only to be deleted. A police spokesman said Morant told officers he was &ldquo;taking a break from social media.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA &mdash; his second ban in four months &mdash; and Commissioner Adam Silver made clear Friday the star must stop his &ldquo;alarming&rdquo; habit of flashing guns on social media.
The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-longest-suspensions-league-history-3531e8f0d418a87403a0dea23c81e73a">suspension for the upcoming season</a>&nbsp;comes a month after a second video of Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-nba-investigation-gun-7fe15dae343f85d0366a4c959d5313b3">flashing a handgun</a>&nbsp;was streamed online. The video of Morant showing a gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car was posted after his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">eight-game suspension</a>&nbsp;in March for a video in which he flashed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.
Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game &mdash; or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.
Silver made clear the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-suspension-ja-morant-grizzlies-timeline-2ae7769a4a9b45efc97d6746ca55c049">two-time All-Star&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;decision-making is &ldquo;disconcerting.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The potential for other young people to emulate Ja&rsquo;s conduct is particularly concerning,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.&rdquo;
The league said Morant &ldquo;will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games&rdquo; during his suspension.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant indefinitely from team activities after the second video surfaced, and they said Friday they respect the punishment for this &ldquo;latest episode.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them,&rdquo; the Grizzlies said.
Morant apologized again Friday to the league, the Grizzlies, his teammates and the city of Memphis in a statement issued through his representatives. He specifically told Silver, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman he is sorry.
The guard with his own signature Nike shoe also apologized to children who look up to him for failing them as a role model. Morant made clear he&rsquo;s had time to reflect and understands the hurt he might have caused.
&ldquo;I promise I&rsquo;m going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I&rsquo;m going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I&rsquo;m going to make it up to you, I promise,&rdquo; Morant said.
Morant said he&rsquo;ll keep working on both his mental health and decision-making.
On May 24, police&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/morant-memphis-grizzlies-instagram-gun-welfare-check-a03aea74ced1bdcd6bd4c55500ca1ea6">conducted a welfare check</a>&nbsp;on Morant and said he was &ldquo;fine&rdquo; after cryptic messages appeared on the guard&rsquo;s Instagram account only to be deleted. A police spokesman said Morant told officers he was &ldquo;taking a break from social media.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I hope you&rsquo;ll give me the chance to prove to you over time I&rsquo;m a better man than what I&rsquo;ve been showing you,&rdquo; Morant said Friday.
NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said the players association thinks the NBA went too far punishing Morant, calling it &ldquo;excessive and inappropriate&rdquo; and inconsistent with the league&rsquo;s past discipline.
&ldquo;We will explore with Ja all options and next steps,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://nbpa.com/news/nbpa-executive-director-tamika-tremaglios-statement-on-the-suspension-of-ja-morant" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tremaglio said in a statement.</a>
&nbsp;

Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA &mdash; his second ban in four months &mdash; and Commissioner Adam Silver made clear Friday the star must stop his &ldquo;alarming&rdquo; habit of flashing guns on social media.
The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-longest-suspensions-league-history-3531e8f0d418a87403a0dea23c81e73a">suspension for the upcoming season</a>&nbsp;comes a month after a second video of Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-nba-investigation-gun-7fe15dae343f85d0366a4c959d5313b3">flashing a handgun</a>&nbsp;was streamed online. The video of Morant showing a gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car was posted after his&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">eight-game suspension</a>&nbsp;in March for a video in which he flashed a handgun in a Denver-area strip club.
Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game &mdash; or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.
Silver made clear the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-suspension-ja-morant-grizzlies-timeline-2ae7769a4a9b45efc97d6746ca55c049">two-time All-Star&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;decision-making is &ldquo;disconcerting.&rdquo;
&ldquo;The potential for other young people to emulate Ja&rsquo;s conduct is particularly concerning,&rdquo; Silver said. &ldquo;Under these circumstances, we believe a suspension of 25 games is appropriate and makes clear that engaging in reckless and irresponsible behavior with guns will not be tolerated.&rdquo;
The league said Morant &ldquo;will be ineligible to participate in any public league or team activities, including preseason games&rdquo; during his suspension.
The Grizzlies suspended Morant indefinitely from team activities after the second video surfaced, and they said Friday they respect the punishment for this &ldquo;latest episode.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Our standards as a league and team are clear, and we expect that all team personnel will adhere to them,&rdquo; the Grizzlies said.
Morant apologized again Friday to the league, the Grizzlies, his teammates and the city of Memphis in a statement issued through his representatives. He specifically told Silver, Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman he is sorry.
The guard with his own signature Nike shoe also apologized to children who look up to him for failing them as a role model. Morant made clear he&rsquo;s had time to reflect and understands the hurt he might have caused.
&ldquo;I promise I&rsquo;m going to be better. To all of my sponsors, I&rsquo;m going to be a better representation of our brands. And to all of my fans, I&rsquo;m going to make it up to you, I promise,&rdquo; Morant said.
Morant said he&rsquo;ll keep working on both his mental health and decision-making.
On May 24, police&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/morant-memphis-grizzlies-instagram-gun-welfare-check-a03aea74ced1bdcd6bd4c55500ca1ea6">conducted a welfare check</a>&nbsp;on Morant and said he was &ldquo;fine&rdquo; after cryptic messages appeared on the guard&rsquo;s Instagram account only to be deleted. A police spokesman said Morant told officers he was &ldquo;taking a break from social media.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I hope you&rsquo;ll give me the chance to prove to you over time I&rsquo;m a better man than what I&rsquo;ve been showing you,&rdquo; Morant said Friday.
NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said the players association thinks the NBA went too far punishing Morant, calling it &ldquo;excessive and inappropriate&rdquo; and inconsistent with the league&rsquo;s past discipline.
&ldquo;We will explore with Ja all options and next steps,&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://nbpa.com/news/nbpa-executive-director-tamika-tremaglios-statement-on-the-suspension-of-ja-morant" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tremaglio said in a statement.</a>
Nike also is sticking with Morant, whose Ja 1 shoe line debuted earlier this year.
&ldquo;We are pleased that Ja is taking accountability and prioritizing his well-being,&rdquo; Nike said.
Silver&rsquo;s stance is clear: Morant&rsquo;s actions, even without being charged with a crime, have severe consequences, particularly with gun violence a massive problem and the guard one of the league&rsquo;s most popular players.
&ldquo;Waving them around ... is not consistent with gun safety and is not the proper message that an NBA player, particularly one at Ja&rsquo;s level, should be sending to the tens of millions of followers he has &mdash; and particularly when it&rsquo;s an incident once again, where it&rsquo;s been streamed live on social media,&rdquo; Silver said earlier this month at the NBA Finals.
The suspension almost certainly means that Morant will not be eligible for any end-of-season awards in 2024, such as MVP and All-NBA. Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that goes into effect July 1, a player must appear in 65 games (with limited exceptions) to be eligible.
It&rsquo;s also reasonable to think Morant will miss the league&rsquo;s inaugural in-season tournament expected to start this fall and end sometime in December. The league has yet to announce if the tournament is definitely happening, nor has it released the schedule.
Silver said basketball needs to take a back seat for Morant before he can return to the NBA. Morant will have to finish a program with the league addressing the issues Silver said &ldquo;led him to repeat this destructive behavior.&rdquo;
Morant&rsquo;s eight-game suspension cost him about $669,000 in forfeited salary after the first video surfaced on March 4 on his own Instagram account.
The second video captured May 13 was widely shared online after being streamed by a Morant associate. That was the same friend&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-indiana-pacers-nba-sports-temetrius-morant-691ebf33edbf85aef5db428406c8976e">Morant said in February had been banned</a>&nbsp;from the Grizzlies&rsquo; home arena for a year over a confrontation with members of the Indiana Pacers organization a week earlier.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant has been suspended 25 games by the NBA — his second ban in four month.

NBA suspends Ja Morant 25 games for 2nd video involving a gun

The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">Memphis Grizzlies</a>&nbsp;have no plans to bring&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;back to the team when he hits free agency this summer, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
Brooks was offered an extension last year but turned it down. The Grizzlies have since decided that he won&rsquo;t be in their future plans, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor Brooks released details publicly.
The Athletic first reported the Grizzlies&rsquo; decision, and it was subsequently confirmed by ESPN.
Brooks just completed a three-year contract that paid him $35 million. He led the NBA with 18 technical fouls this season, earning a pair of one-game suspensions for surpassing the league threshold for technicals.
He also was fined $35,000 for shoving a camera person on the sideline while chasing a loose ball in Miami in March, which he apologized for later. He was suspended a game in February for hitting Donovan Mitchell in the groin in February, costing him $78,621 in pay, according to Spotrac.com.
&nbsp;

The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">Memphis Grizzlies</a>&nbsp;have no plans to bring&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;back to the team when he hits free agency this summer, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
Brooks was offered an extension last year but turned it down. The Grizzlies have since decided that he won&rsquo;t be in their future plans, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor Brooks released details publicly.
The Athletic first reported the Grizzlies&rsquo; decision, and it was subsequently confirmed by ESPN.
Brooks just completed a three-year contract that paid him $35 million. He led the NBA with 18 technical fouls this season, earning a pair of one-game suspensions for surpassing the league threshold for technicals.
He also was fined $35,000 for shoving a camera person on the sideline while chasing a loose ball in Miami in March, which he apologized for later. He was suspended a game in February for hitting Donovan Mitchell in the groin in February, costing him $78,621 in pay, according to Spotrac.com.
The NBA fined Brooks on Sunday $25,000 for not talking to the media after some of Memphis&rsquo; losses in its first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA says Brooks violated league rules for &ldquo;media interview access.&rdquo;
That included Brooks bolting the Memphis locker room after the Game 6&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">series-clinching loss</a>&nbsp;before reporters were allowed inside. That 40-point loss was the biggest in franchise history for Memphis, which came in as the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-2023-df246a8daaf3223b66433693a35953a5">West&rsquo;s No. 2 seed for a second straight season</a>.
Grizzlies general manger Zach Kleiman was asked about Brooks&rsquo; future with Memphis on Sunday. Memphis acquired the 6-foot-6 Brooks, who was the 45th pick overall out of Oregon, in a draft-night trade from Houston in 2017. Brooks had started 318 of 345 regular-season games in his career.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll hit on DB another day, but nothing I could comment on for now with him going into free agency,&rdquo; Kleiman said then. ___
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this story.

The&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">Memphis Grizzlies</a>&nbsp;have no plans to bring&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;back to the team when he hits free agency this summer, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
Brooks was offered an extension last year but turned it down. The Grizzlies have since decided that he won&rsquo;t be in their future plans, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor Brooks released details publicly.
The Athletic first reported the Grizzlies&rsquo; decision, and it was subsequently confirmed by ESPN.
Brooks just completed a three-year contract that paid him $35 million. He led the NBA with 18 technical fouls this season, earning a pair of one-game suspensions for surpassing the league threshold for technicals.
He also was fined $35,000 for shoving a camera person on the sideline while chasing a loose ball in Miami in March, which he apologized for later. He was suspended a game in February for hitting Donovan Mitchell in the groin in February, costing him $78,621 in pay, according to Spotrac.com.
The NBA fined Brooks on Sunday $25,000 for not talking to the media after some of Memphis&rsquo; losses in its first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA says Brooks violated league rules for &ldquo;media interview access.&rdquo;
That included Brooks bolting the Memphis locker room after the Game 6&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">series-clinching loss</a>&nbsp;before reporters were allowed inside. That 40-point loss was the biggest in franchise history for Memphis, which came in as the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-2023-df246a8daaf3223b66433693a35953a5">West&rsquo;s No. 2 seed for a second straight season</a>.
Grizzlies general manger Zach Kleiman was asked about Brooks&rsquo; future with Memphis on Sunday. Memphis acquired the 6-foot-6 Brooks, who was the 45th pick overall out of Oregon, in a draft-night trade from Houston in 2017. Brooks had started 318 of 345 regular-season games in his career.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll hit on DB another day, but nothing I could comment on for now with him going into free agency,&rdquo; Kleiman said then.

The Memphis Grizzlies have no plans to bring Dillon Brooks back to the team when he hits free agency this summer, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
Brooks was offered an extension last year but turned it down. The Grizzlies have since decided that he won&rsquo;t be in their future plans, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the team nor Brooks released details publicly.
The Athletic first reported the Grizzlies&rsquo; decision, and it was subsequently confirmed by ESPN.
Brooks just completed a three-year contract that paid him $35 million. He led the NBA with 18 technical fouls this season, earning a pair of one-game suspensions for surpassing the league threshold for technicals.
He also was fined $35,000 for shoving a camera person on the sideline while chasing a loose ball in Miami in March, which he apologized for later. He was suspended a game in February for hitting Donovan Mitchell in the groin in February, costing him $78,621 in pay, according to Spotrac.com.
The NBA fined Brooks on Sunday $25,000 for not talking to the media after some of Memphis&rsquo; losses in its first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA says Brooks violated league rules for &ldquo;media interview access.&rdquo;
That included Brooks bolting the Memphis locker room after the Game 6&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">series-clinching loss</a>&nbsp;before reporters were allowed inside. That 40-point loss was the biggest in franchise history for Memphis, which came in as the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-2023-df246a8daaf3223b66433693a35953a5">West&rsquo;s No. 2 seed for a second straight season</a>.
Grizzlies general manger Zach Kleiman was asked about Brooks&rsquo; future with Memphis on Sunday. Memphis acquired the 6-foot-6 Brooks, who was the 45th pick overall out of Oregon, in a draft-night trade from Houston in 2017. Brooks had started 318 of 345 regular-season games in his career.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll hit on DB another day, but nothing I could comment on for now with him going into free agency,&rdquo; Kleiman said then.

The Memphis Grizzlies have no plans to bring Dillon Brooks back to the team when he hits free agency this summer.

Grizzlies have no plans to bring back Dillon Brooks

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">playoffs</a>&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
&nbsp;

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">playoffs</a>&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&nbsp;

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">playoffs</a>&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&ldquo;I just got to be better with my decision-making,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more disciplined.&rdquo;
HOME EDGE
The Grizzlies set a franchise mark by going 35-6 at home this season, the NBA&rsquo;s best home record since Golden State won 36 games in the 2016-17 season. Memphis needs to play better on the road after going 16-25, better than only Golden State among the teams reaching the first round.
Memphis lost all three playoff games in Los Angeles, with only Game 4 reaching overtime.
INJURY HEX
This was the fifth time Memphis&rsquo; playoff hopes were hampered by injuries or suspensions.
Morant missed Game 2 against the Lakers after aggravating his bruised right hand, while&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-dillon-brooks-174e0914b8a2376176ee940a8869e563">Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 3</a>&nbsp;for striking James in the groin. Luke Kennard, the NBA&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter, missed Game 6 with an injured shoulder.
The Grizzlies also didn&rsquo;t have starting center Steven Adams, their oldest player, or key reserve Brandon Clarke because of season-ending injuries.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-steven-adams-phoenix-37d09a9662037d519eccf9282f17ac59">Adams hurt his right knee in late January</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Clarke tore his left Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in early March.
&nbsp;

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">playoffs</a>&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&ldquo;I just got to be better with my decision-making,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more disciplined.&rdquo;
HOME EDGE
The Grizzlies set a franchise mark by going 35-6 at home this season, the NBA&rsquo;s best home record since Golden State won 36 games in the 2016-17 season. Memphis needs to play better on the road after going 16-25, better than only Golden State among the teams reaching the first round.
Memphis lost all three playoff games in Los Angeles, with only Game 4 reaching overtime.
INJURY HEX
This was the fifth time Memphis&rsquo; playoff hopes were hampered by injuries or suspensions.
Morant missed Game 2 against the Lakers after aggravating his bruised right hand, while&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-dillon-brooks-174e0914b8a2376176ee940a8869e563">Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 3</a>&nbsp;for striking James in the groin. Luke Kennard, the NBA&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter, missed Game 6 with an injured shoulder.
The Grizzlies also didn&rsquo;t have starting center Steven Adams, their oldest player, or key reserve Brandon Clarke because of season-ending injuries.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-steven-adams-phoenix-37d09a9662037d519eccf9282f17ac59">Adams hurt his right knee in late January</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Clarke tore his left Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in early March.
The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies on the boards.
&ldquo;It would be dumb to say that it didn&rsquo;t play a part in it,&rdquo; third-year guard Desmond Bane said. &rdquo;(Adams) was a part of what we did all season long. Obviously (Clarke) was, too.&rdquo;
Last season, Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-jordan-poole-5d6963a01c0f84c7421c9f4ff7711011">missed the final three games</a>&nbsp;of Memphis&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">semifinals loss to eventual champion</a>&nbsp;Golden State.
BRIGHT FUTURE
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies also have Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest player to be named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">defensive player of the year</a>. Jackson, who also is 23, led the league and set a franchise record by averaging 3 blocks per game.
&nbsp;

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">playoffs</a>&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&ldquo;I just got to be better with my decision-making,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more disciplined.&rdquo;
HOME EDGE
The Grizzlies set a franchise mark by going 35-6 at home this season, the NBA&rsquo;s best home record since Golden State won 36 games in the 2016-17 season. Memphis needs to play better on the road after going 16-25, better than only Golden State among the teams reaching the first round.
Memphis lost all three playoff games in Los Angeles, with only Game 4 reaching overtime.
INJURY HEX
This was the fifth time Memphis&rsquo; playoff hopes were hampered by injuries or suspensions.
Morant missed Game 2 against the Lakers after aggravating his bruised right hand, while&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-dillon-brooks-174e0914b8a2376176ee940a8869e563">Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 3</a>&nbsp;for striking James in the groin. Luke Kennard, the NBA&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter, missed Game 6 with an injured shoulder.
The Grizzlies also didn&rsquo;t have starting center Steven Adams, their oldest player, or key reserve Brandon Clarke because of season-ending injuries.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-steven-adams-phoenix-37d09a9662037d519eccf9282f17ac59">Adams hurt his right knee in late January</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Clarke tore his left Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in early March.
The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies on the boards.
&ldquo;It would be dumb to say that it didn&rsquo;t play a part in it,&rdquo; third-year guard Desmond Bane said. &rdquo;(Adams) was a part of what we did all season long. Obviously (Clarke) was, too.&rdquo;
Last season, Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-jordan-poole-5d6963a01c0f84c7421c9f4ff7711011">missed the final three games</a>&nbsp;of Memphis&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">semifinals loss to eventual champion</a>&nbsp;Golden State.
BRIGHT FUTURE
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies also have Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest player to be named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">defensive player of the year</a>. Jackson, who also is 23, led the league and set a franchise record by averaging 3 blocks per game.
Jackson blossomed, particularly after Adams&rsquo; injury, and was picked for his first All-Star Game. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, both career highs. Healthy going into the offseason, the five-year veteran who won&rsquo;t turn 24 until September has more room to improve.
WHAT TO DO WITH BROOKS
The easiest decision for Memphis may be letting the 6-foot-6 Brooks leave as a free agent after five seasons. Yes, he&rsquo;s a great defender who played his best against All-Stars during the regular season, but he also led the NBA in technical fouls.
Then came the playoffs. Brooks said he wanted to face the Lakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">before calling James &ldquo;old&rdquo; and saying he didn&rsquo;t respect anyone</a>&nbsp;until they put up 40 on him. Well, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">Lakers polished off the Grizzlies with a 40-point win</a>&nbsp;in James&rsquo; 40th postseason series victory of his career.
Brooks didn&rsquo;t help himself when he bolted the Memphis locker room after the series loss before reporters were allowed inside. The guard being paid $11.4 million this season on a rookie extension also didn&rsquo;t talk after three of the losses in the series.
&nbsp;

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">playoffs</a>&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&ldquo;I just got to be better with my decision-making,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more disciplined.&rdquo;
HOME EDGE
The Grizzlies set a franchise mark by going 35-6 at home this season, the NBA&rsquo;s best home record since Golden State won 36 games in the 2016-17 season. Memphis needs to play better on the road after going 16-25, better than only Golden State among the teams reaching the first round.
Memphis lost all three playoff games in Los Angeles, with only Game 4 reaching overtime.
INJURY HEX
This was the fifth time Memphis&rsquo; playoff hopes were hampered by injuries or suspensions.
Morant missed Game 2 against the Lakers after aggravating his bruised right hand, while&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-dillon-brooks-174e0914b8a2376176ee940a8869e563">Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 3</a>&nbsp;for striking James in the groin. Luke Kennard, the NBA&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter, missed Game 6 with an injured shoulder.
The Grizzlies also didn&rsquo;t have starting center Steven Adams, their oldest player, or key reserve Brandon Clarke because of season-ending injuries.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-steven-adams-phoenix-37d09a9662037d519eccf9282f17ac59">Adams hurt his right knee in late January</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Clarke tore his left Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in early March.
The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies on the boards.
&ldquo;It would be dumb to say that it didn&rsquo;t play a part in it,&rdquo; third-year guard Desmond Bane said. &rdquo;(Adams) was a part of what we did all season long. Obviously (Clarke) was, too.&rdquo;
Last season, Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-jordan-poole-5d6963a01c0f84c7421c9f4ff7711011">missed the final three games</a>&nbsp;of Memphis&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">semifinals loss to eventual champion</a>&nbsp;Golden State.
BRIGHT FUTURE
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies also have Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest player to be named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">defensive player of the year</a>. Jackson, who also is 23, led the league and set a franchise record by averaging 3 blocks per game.
Jackson blossomed, particularly after Adams&rsquo; injury, and was picked for his first All-Star Game. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, both career highs. Healthy going into the offseason, the five-year veteran who won&rsquo;t turn 24 until September has more room to improve.
WHAT TO DO WITH BROOKS
The easiest decision for Memphis may be letting the 6-foot-6 Brooks leave as a free agent after five seasons. Yes, he&rsquo;s a great defender who played his best against All-Stars during the regular season, but he also led the NBA in technical fouls.
Then came the playoffs. Brooks said he wanted to face the Lakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">before calling James &ldquo;old&rdquo; and saying he didn&rsquo;t respect anyone</a>&nbsp;until they put up 40 on him. Well, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">Lakers polished off the Grizzlies with a 40-point win</a>&nbsp;in James&rsquo; 40th postseason series victory of his career.
Brooks didn&rsquo;t help himself when he bolted the Memphis locker room after the series loss before reporters were allowed inside. The guard being paid $11.4 million this season on a rookie extension also didn&rsquo;t talk after three of the losses in the series.
FUTURE MOVES
The Grizzlies hold club options on Xavier Tillman and Kennard for next season. They also have the 25th overall pick in the June draft.

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the playoffs&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&ldquo;I just got to be better with my decision-making,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more disciplined.&rdquo;
HOME EDGE
The Grizzlies set a franchise mark by going 35-6 at home this season, the NBA&rsquo;s best home record since Golden State won 36 games in the 2016-17 season. Memphis needs to play better on the road after going 16-25, better than only Golden State among the teams reaching the first round.
Memphis lost all three playoff games in Los Angeles, with only Game 4 reaching overtime.
INJURY HEX
This was the fifth time Memphis&rsquo; playoff hopes were hampered by injuries or suspensions.
Morant missed Game 2 against the Lakers after aggravating his bruised right hand, while&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-dillon-brooks-174e0914b8a2376176ee940a8869e563">Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 3</a>&nbsp;for striking James in the groin. Luke Kennard, the NBA&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter, missed Game 6 with an injured shoulder.
The Grizzlies also didn&rsquo;t have starting center Steven Adams, their oldest player, or key reserve Brandon Clarke because of season-ending injuries.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-steven-adams-phoenix-37d09a9662037d519eccf9282f17ac59">Adams hurt his right knee in late January</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Clarke tore his left Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in early March.
The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies on the boards.
&ldquo;It would be dumb to say that it didn&rsquo;t play a part in it,&rdquo; third-year guard Desmond Bane said. &rdquo;(Adams) was a part of what we did all season long. Obviously (Clarke) was, too.&rdquo;
Last season, Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-jordan-poole-5d6963a01c0f84c7421c9f4ff7711011">missed the final three games</a>&nbsp;of Memphis&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">semifinals loss to eventual champion</a>&nbsp;Golden State.
BRIGHT FUTURE
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies also have Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest player to be named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">defensive player of the year</a>. Jackson, who also is 23, led the league and set a franchise record by averaging 3 blocks per game.
Jackson blossomed, particularly after Adams&rsquo; injury, and was picked for his first All-Star Game. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, both career highs. Healthy going into the offseason, the five-year veteran who won&rsquo;t turn 24 until September has more room to improve.
WHAT TO DO WITH BROOKS
The easiest decision for Memphis may be letting the 6-foot-6 Brooks leave as a free agent after five seasons. Yes, he&rsquo;s a great defender who played his best against All-Stars during the regular season, but he also led the NBA in technical fouls.
Then came the playoffs. Brooks said he wanted to face the Lakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">before calling James &ldquo;old&rdquo; and saying he didn&rsquo;t respect anyone</a>&nbsp;until they put up 40 on him. Well, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">Lakers polished off the Grizzlies with a 40-point win</a>&nbsp;in James&rsquo; 40th postseason series victory of his career.
Brooks didn&rsquo;t help himself when he bolted the Memphis locker room after the series loss before reporters were allowed inside. The guard being paid $11.4 million this season on a rookie extension also didn&rsquo;t talk after three of the losses in the series.
FUTURE MOVES
The Grizzlies hold club options on Xavier Tillman and Kennard for next season. They also have the 25th overall pick in the June draft.

The Memphis Grizzlies are the NBA’s second-youngest team and after this year's playoff exit, it's time for them to grow up.

Young Grizzlies must grow up after early exit from playoffs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99 to force their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;back to Los Angeles.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year</a>, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to 5-0 in Game 5s played in Memphis and cut the seventh-seeded Lakers&rsquo; series lead to 3-2. Memphis earned a second straight No. 2 seed by posting the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6.
Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
LeBron James started 1 of 7 from the field but finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a modest follow-up after the 38-year-old played 45 minutes in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-lebron-morant-9e8a719125079093104db8145d90ac43">Monday night&rsquo;s overtime win in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;and became the oldest player in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in his 270th playoff game.
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99 to force their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;back to Los Angeles.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year</a>, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to 5-0 in Game 5s played in Memphis and cut the seventh-seeded Lakers&rsquo; series lead to 3-2. Memphis earned a second straight No. 2 seed by posting the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6.
Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
LeBron James started 1 of 7 from the field but finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a modest follow-up after the 38-year-old played 45 minutes in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-lebron-morant-9e8a719125079093104db8145d90ac43">Monday night&rsquo;s overtime win in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;and became the oldest player in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in his 270th playoff game.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Austin Reaves had 17 points and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored 11. Davis stayed on the court for a few seconds after a layup with 6:01 left that pulled the Lakers within 106-91. When he got up, Davis grabbed at his back as he walked down the court.
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99 to force their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;back to Los Angeles.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year</a>, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to 5-0 in Game 5s played in Memphis and cut the seventh-seeded Lakers&rsquo; series lead to 3-2. Memphis earned a second straight No. 2 seed by posting the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6.
Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
LeBron James started 1 of 7 from the field but finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a modest follow-up after the 38-year-old played 45 minutes in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-lebron-morant-9e8a719125079093104db8145d90ac43">Monday night&rsquo;s overtime win in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;and became the oldest player in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in his 270th playoff game.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Austin Reaves had 17 points and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored 11. Davis stayed on the court for a few seconds after a layup with 6:01 left that pulled the Lakers within 106-91. When he got up, Davis grabbed at his back as he walked down the court.
The Lakers tried to rally, going on a 20-7 run in the fourth. They couldn&rsquo;t get closer than 12, the last on a putback by Davis with 2:52 left. Memphis answered with eight straight to get fans chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with about 90 seconds left.
Memphis led only 23-20 when coach Taylor Jenkins took out Dillon Brooks,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">known more for calling James old and missing shots than his defense in this series</a>. The Grizzlies seized control, finishing on a 15-4 run capped by Bane&rsquo;s 3 just before the quarter expired for a 38-24 lead.
The Grizzlies led by as much as 17 in the second with Morant scoring 10, including&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1651381764131045376" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drawing a foul on James for a three-point play</a>. Memphis led 61-52 at halftime.
Russell scored the first eight of the third for the Lakers to quickly turn it into a tight game. James, who had nine in the third, hit a pair of free throws that pulled Los Angeles within 75-74 with 4:36 left.
Memphis took control with a 26-2 run that lasted until the start of the fourth. Morant had 11 in the third and finished the quarter with back-to-back buckets. His final drive put the Grizzlies up 94-76 going into the fourth.
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99 to force their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;back to Los Angeles.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year</a>, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to 5-0 in Game 5s played in Memphis and cut the seventh-seeded Lakers&rsquo; series lead to 3-2. Memphis earned a second straight No. 2 seed by posting the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6.
Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
LeBron James started 1 of 7 from the field but finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a modest follow-up after the 38-year-old played 45 minutes in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-lebron-morant-9e8a719125079093104db8145d90ac43">Monday night&rsquo;s overtime win in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;and became the oldest player in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in his 270th playoff game.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Austin Reaves had 17 points and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored 11. Davis stayed on the court for a few seconds after a layup with 6:01 left that pulled the Lakers within 106-91. When he got up, Davis grabbed at his back as he walked down the court.
The Lakers tried to rally, going on a 20-7 run in the fourth. They couldn&rsquo;t get closer than 12, the last on a putback by Davis with 2:52 left. Memphis answered with eight straight to get fans chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with about 90 seconds left.
Memphis led only 23-20 when coach Taylor Jenkins took out Dillon Brooks,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">known more for calling James old and missing shots than his defense in this series</a>. The Grizzlies seized control, finishing on a 15-4 run capped by Bane&rsquo;s 3 just before the quarter expired for a 38-24 lead.
The Grizzlies led by as much as 17 in the second with Morant scoring 10, including&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1651381764131045376" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drawing a foul on James for a three-point play</a>. Memphis led 61-52 at halftime.
Russell scored the first eight of the third for the Lakers to quickly turn it into a tight game. James, who had nine in the third, hit a pair of free throws that pulled Los Angeles within 75-74 with 4:36 left.
Memphis took control with a 26-2 run that lasted until the start of the fourth. Morant had 11 in the third and finished the quarter with back-to-back buckets. His final drive put the Grizzlies up 94-76 going into the fourth.
Bane capped the spurt with a three-point play for a 101-74 lead.
TIP-INS
Lakers: They lost for just the fourth time in their past 17 games. ... They came in having outscored Memphis&rsquo; bench 119-79 thanks to 72 points from Rui Hachimura. But the forward picked up two quick fouls early and played only five minutes of the first half. He finished with nine points, and the benches matched each other with 18 apiece.
Grizzlies: They will have to prove they can win in Los Angeles to force the third Game 7 in franchise history and first since 2014. They lost their lone game in the regular season at Los Angeles before dropping both Games 3 and 4, though the Grizzlies lost by six in overtime Monday night. ... Jackson had two blocks.

Ja Morant had 31 points and 10 boards, and the Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99.

Ja Morant, Grizzlies stave off elimination, beat Lakers 116-99

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies tied their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 103-93 with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-ja-morant-grizzlies-lakers-2023-eacbc8e1614e6fcfd6bebfa30e610b69">All-Star guard Ja Morant sidelined by an injured hand</a>.
No. 2 seed Memphis sat Morant after he tested the right hand originally hurt April 7 in a win at Milwaukee and aggravated driving to the basket in the opening loss to the Lakers. He had more exams on the hand before being declared inactive and watched from the bench with his hand bandaged.
Morant&rsquo;s teammates more than made up for his absence. The Grizzlies led by as much as 20 and had fans waving their towels chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with 30 seconds left with this series guaranteed a return to Memphis for Game 5. The Grizzlies were able to dribble out the final seconds for the win.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 18 points for Memphis. Desmond Bane had 17, while Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists filling in for Morant. Dillon Brooks added 12 points and Luke Kennard had 13.
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies tied their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 103-93 with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-ja-morant-grizzlies-lakers-2023-eacbc8e1614e6fcfd6bebfa30e610b69">All-Star guard Ja Morant sidelined by an injured hand</a>.
No. 2 seed Memphis sat Morant after he tested the right hand originally hurt April 7 in a win at Milwaukee and aggravated driving to the basket in the opening loss to the Lakers. He had more exams on the hand before being declared inactive and watched from the bench with his hand bandaged.
Morant&rsquo;s teammates more than made up for his absence. The Grizzlies led by as much as 20 and had fans waving their towels chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with 30 seconds left with this series guaranteed a return to Memphis for Game 5. The Grizzlies were able to dribble out the final seconds for the win.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 18 points for Memphis. Desmond Bane had 17, while Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists filling in for Morant. Dillon Brooks added 12 points and Luke Kennard had 13.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Reserve Rui Hachimura had another strong performance with 20 points. Anthony Davis struggled mightily after posting a double-double in the opener, going 4 of 14 and finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies tied their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 103-93 with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-ja-morant-grizzlies-lakers-2023-eacbc8e1614e6fcfd6bebfa30e610b69">All-Star guard Ja Morant sidelined by an injured hand</a>.
No. 2 seed Memphis sat Morant after he tested the right hand originally hurt April 7 in a win at Milwaukee and aggravated driving to the basket in the opening loss to the Lakers. He had more exams on the hand before being declared inactive and watched from the bench with his hand bandaged.
Morant&rsquo;s teammates more than made up for his absence. The Grizzlies led by as much as 20 and had fans waving their towels chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with 30 seconds left with this series guaranteed a return to Memphis for Game 5. The Grizzlies were able to dribble out the final seconds for the win.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 18 points for Memphis. Desmond Bane had 17, while Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists filling in for Morant. Dillon Brooks added 12 points and Luke Kennard had 13.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Reserve Rui Hachimura had another strong performance with 20 points. Anthony Davis struggled mightily after posting a double-double in the opener, going 4 of 14 and finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Lakers, winners of 11 of their previous 13, had a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">four-game winning streak</a>&nbsp;snapped. Now they head home for Game 3 on Saturday night after never leading by more than three, and that came on the first points of the game.
Memphis took control in the first quarter with a 22-8 run, with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1648837906000228352" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">back to-back 3s in the span of 10 seconds</a>&nbsp;from rookie David Roddy, then Kennard, who also drew a foul for a four-point play.
With&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1648840182341287941" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bane scoring 10 points,</a>&nbsp;Memphis led 30-19 after the first. Jackson made his first 3 with 58 seconds left, and the Grizzlies went into the half up 59-44 after outscoring the Lakers 29-25 in the second.
Hachimura scored 11 in the third and helped the Lakers trim a Memphis lead that reached 66-46 to 73-67. The Grizzlies finished the quarter on a 10-4 run to push the lead to 83-71 going into the fourth.
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies tied their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 103-93 with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-ja-morant-grizzlies-lakers-2023-eacbc8e1614e6fcfd6bebfa30e610b69">All-Star guard Ja Morant sidelined by an injured hand</a>.
No. 2 seed Memphis sat Morant after he tested the right hand originally hurt April 7 in a win at Milwaukee and aggravated driving to the basket in the opening loss to the Lakers. He had more exams on the hand before being declared inactive and watched from the bench with his hand bandaged.
Morant&rsquo;s teammates more than made up for his absence. The Grizzlies led by as much as 20 and had fans waving their towels chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with 30 seconds left with this series guaranteed a return to Memphis for Game 5. The Grizzlies were able to dribble out the final seconds for the win.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 18 points for Memphis. Desmond Bane had 17, while Tyus Jones had 10 points and eight assists filling in for Morant. Dillon Brooks added 12 points and Luke Kennard had 13.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Reserve Rui Hachimura had another strong performance with 20 points. Anthony Davis struggled mightily after posting a double-double in the opener, going 4 of 14 and finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The Lakers, winners of 11 of their previous 13, had a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">four-game winning streak</a>&nbsp;snapped. Now they head home for Game 3 on Saturday night after never leading by more than three, and that came on the first points of the game.
Memphis took control in the first quarter with a 22-8 run, with&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1648837906000228352" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">back to-back 3s in the span of 10 seconds</a>&nbsp;from rookie David Roddy, then Kennard, who also drew a foul for a four-point play.
With&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1648840182341287941" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bane scoring 10 points,</a>&nbsp;Memphis led 30-19 after the first. Jackson made his first 3 with 58 seconds left, and the Grizzlies went into the half up 59-44 after outscoring the Lakers 29-25 in the second.
Hachimura scored 11 in the third and helped the Lakers trim a Memphis lead that reached 66-46 to 73-67. The Grizzlies finished the quarter on a 10-4 run to push the lead to 83-71 going into the fourth.
The Lakers never got closer than 94-88 in the final quarter on a James&rsquo; layup with 3:10 remaining. Memphis scored five straight to push it back to double digits.
TIP-INS
Lakers: They wound up outrebounded 49-47, though they matched Memphis&rsquo; scoring in the paint at 50 apiece despite being outscored there 38-20 in the first half. ... Austin Reaves had 12 points after having 23 in the opener. He was 5 of 12 in this game. ... D&rsquo;Angelo Russell had five points, shooting 5 of 11 after having 19 in Game 1.
Grizzlies: Jackson was presented his trophy as the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year before</a>&nbsp;tipoff. ... Injuries now have kept Morant out of four of the Grizzlies&rsquo; last five playoff games, dating back to last year&rsquo;s conference semifinals.
X FACTOR
Tillman had more points in the first quarter than he managed in all of the opening loss. He made his first six shots before missing his seventh, a 3 trying to beat the buzzer that hit off the right rim. He finished with a season high in rebounds.
Reserve John Konchar had his moment too,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1648844835682414594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">going way up to block all ball on a shot by Davis</a>&nbsp;in the second quarter.
&nbsp;

The Grizzlies tied their first-round Western Conference series at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Lakers 103-93.

No Ja Morant, no problem as Grizzlies tie up Lakers at 1-1

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
Injuries over the span of a couple hours Sunday also sidelined two-time All-Star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, keeping them from finishing their playoff openers.
&nbsp;

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
Injuries over the span of a couple hours Sunday also sidelined two-time All-Star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, keeping them from finishing their playoff openers.
Anthony Davis scared Los Angeles Lakers fans by grabbing at his right shoulder and saying he couldn&rsquo;t move his arm. Luckily for the Lakers, Davis rebounded from a stinger and returned for the start of the third quarter of their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 victory over the Grizzlies.</a>
Both Antetokounmpo and Morant were hurt on drives to the basket where each landed awkwardly.
Antetokounmpo came down hard on his backside after being fouled by Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love. The Bucks&rsquo; forward got up slowly with 4:13 left in the first quarter. He picked up his second foul about 2 1/2 minutes later but played about 11 minutes for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed.
The Bucks went on to lose&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">130-117 to Miami</a>.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-tyler-herro-bucks-ffd01cc8e98856cbf26078ff48c7d096">Herro broke his right hand</a>&nbsp;late in the second quarter, apparently while diving for a loose ball. The Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lmhelmbrecht/status/1647759335391477760?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen with a cast on his hand after the game,</a>&nbsp;won&rsquo;t play Game 2 on Wednesday night and the Heat will figure out what to do next.
&nbsp;

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
Injuries over the span of a couple hours Sunday also sidelined two-time All-Star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, keeping them from finishing their playoff openers.
Anthony Davis scared Los Angeles Lakers fans by grabbing at his right shoulder and saying he couldn&rsquo;t move his arm. Luckily for the Lakers, Davis rebounded from a stinger and returned for the start of the third quarter of their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 victory over the Grizzlies.</a>
Both Antetokounmpo and Morant were hurt on drives to the basket where each landed awkwardly.
Antetokounmpo came down hard on his backside after being fouled by Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love. The Bucks&rsquo; forward got up slowly with 4:13 left in the first quarter. He picked up his second foul about 2 1/2 minutes later but played about 11 minutes for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed.
The Bucks went on to lose&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">130-117 to Miami</a>.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-tyler-herro-bucks-ffd01cc8e98856cbf26078ff48c7d096">Herro broke his right hand</a>&nbsp;late in the second quarter, apparently while diving for a loose ball. The Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lmhelmbrecht/status/1647759335391477760?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen with a cast on his hand after the game,</a>&nbsp;won&rsquo;t play Game 2 on Wednesday night and the Heat will figure out what to do next.
&ldquo;I got the same diagnosis that you all heard,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
Morant came into Sunday&rsquo;s first-round Western Conference series with his right hand already bandaged after being hurt in a win that clinched the No. 2 seed for the Grizzlies.
Then he drove to the basket against the 6-foot-10 Davis with 5:48 left, with Memphis trailing the Lakers 105-101. His right hand appeared to bend the wrong direction as he hit the court. Morant writhed in pain, then ran toward the Grizzlies&rsquo; bench letting out a yell near midcourt before sprinting to the locker room.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said X-rays were negative and the Grizzlies will do further testing taking this injury one day at a time.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the medical expert,&rdquo; Jenkins said.
&nbsp;

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
Injuries over the span of a couple hours Sunday also sidelined two-time All-Star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, keeping them from finishing their playoff openers.
Anthony Davis scared Los Angeles Lakers fans by grabbing at his right shoulder and saying he couldn&rsquo;t move his arm. Luckily for the Lakers, Davis rebounded from a stinger and returned for the start of the third quarter of their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 victory over the Grizzlies.</a>
Both Antetokounmpo and Morant were hurt on drives to the basket where each landed awkwardly.
Antetokounmpo came down hard on his backside after being fouled by Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love. The Bucks&rsquo; forward got up slowly with 4:13 left in the first quarter. He picked up his second foul about 2 1/2 minutes later but played about 11 minutes for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed.
The Bucks went on to lose&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">130-117 to Miami</a>.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-tyler-herro-bucks-ffd01cc8e98856cbf26078ff48c7d096">Herro broke his right hand</a>&nbsp;late in the second quarter, apparently while diving for a loose ball. The Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lmhelmbrecht/status/1647759335391477760?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen with a cast on his hand after the game,</a>&nbsp;won&rsquo;t play Game 2 on Wednesday night and the Heat will figure out what to do next.
&ldquo;I got the same diagnosis that you all heard,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
Morant came into Sunday&rsquo;s first-round Western Conference series with his right hand already bandaged after being hurt in a win that clinched the No. 2 seed for the Grizzlies.
Then he drove to the basket against the 6-foot-10 Davis with 5:48 left, with Memphis trailing the Lakers 105-101. His right hand appeared to bend the wrong direction as he hit the court. Morant writhed in pain, then ran toward the Grizzlies&rsquo; bench letting out a yell near midcourt before sprinting to the locker room.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said X-rays were negative and the Grizzlies will do further testing taking this injury one day at a time.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the medical expert,&rdquo; Jenkins said.
Morant said he&rsquo;s doubtful for Game 2 on Wednesday night with Memphis down 0-1 following a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 loss</a>.
&ldquo;Tough man, especially with everything I&rsquo;ve been through pretty much this season,&rdquo; said Morant, who was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;after livestreaming himself holding a gun at a Denver-area strip club.
The guard who set the Grizzlies&rsquo; single season scoring record averaging 26.2 points a game wants to play. Memphis already is without center Steven Adams because of an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-steven-adams-injury-ec017c3b6d3a5a40fbac68e311ad79b5">injured knee</a>&nbsp;and reserve big man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Brandon Clarke tore an Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in March.
&ldquo;Another incident where that&rsquo;s pretty much in jeopardy,&rdquo; said Morant, who missed the final three games of&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">Memphis&rsquo; semifinals loss to eventual champ Golden State</a>&nbsp;with an injured knee.
Pain level and how effective he can be will decide if Morant can play.
&ldquo;I feel like I can go out there and be somewhat myself, I&rsquo;ll be playing,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;If not, I don&rsquo;t want to do anything to hurt the team.&rdquo;
The Clippers survived their opener by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/clippers-suns-leonard-durant-westbrook-28319b522530ea87a035106976478d04">beating No. 4 seed Phoenix 115-110</a>&nbsp;without eight-time All-Star guard Paul George, who&rsquo;s been sidelined by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clippers-paul-george-injury-b0d5e91971a68b5a970ae3f6c2c7933e">sprained right knee</a>&nbsp;since late March.
&nbsp;

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
Injuries over the span of a couple hours Sunday also sidelined two-time All-Star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, keeping them from finishing their playoff openers.
Anthony Davis scared Los Angeles Lakers fans by grabbing at his right shoulder and saying he couldn&rsquo;t move his arm. Luckily for the Lakers, Davis rebounded from a stinger and returned for the start of the third quarter of their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 victory over the Grizzlies.</a>
Both Antetokounmpo and Morant were hurt on drives to the basket where each landed awkwardly.
Antetokounmpo came down hard on his backside after being fouled by Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love. The Bucks&rsquo; forward got up slowly with 4:13 left in the first quarter. He picked up his second foul about 2 1/2 minutes later but played about 11 minutes for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed.
The Bucks went on to lose&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">130-117 to Miami</a>.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-tyler-herro-bucks-ffd01cc8e98856cbf26078ff48c7d096">Herro broke his right hand</a>&nbsp;late in the second quarter, apparently while diving for a loose ball. The Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lmhelmbrecht/status/1647759335391477760?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen with a cast on his hand after the game,</a>&nbsp;won&rsquo;t play Game 2 on Wednesday night and the Heat will figure out what to do next.
&ldquo;I got the same diagnosis that you all heard,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
Morant came into Sunday&rsquo;s first-round Western Conference series with his right hand already bandaged after being hurt in a win that clinched the No. 2 seed for the Grizzlies.
Then he drove to the basket against the 6-foot-10 Davis with 5:48 left, with Memphis trailing the Lakers 105-101. His right hand appeared to bend the wrong direction as he hit the court. Morant writhed in pain, then ran toward the Grizzlies&rsquo; bench letting out a yell near midcourt before sprinting to the locker room.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said X-rays were negative and the Grizzlies will do further testing taking this injury one day at a time.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the medical expert,&rdquo; Jenkins said.
Morant said he&rsquo;s doubtful for Game 2 on Wednesday night with Memphis down 0-1 following a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 loss</a>.
&ldquo;Tough man, especially with everything I&rsquo;ve been through pretty much this season,&rdquo; said Morant, who was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;after livestreaming himself holding a gun at a Denver-area strip club.
The guard who set the Grizzlies&rsquo; single season scoring record averaging 26.2 points a game wants to play. Memphis already is without center Steven Adams because of an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-steven-adams-injury-ec017c3b6d3a5a40fbac68e311ad79b5">injured knee</a>&nbsp;and reserve big man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Brandon Clarke tore an Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in March.
&ldquo;Another incident where that&rsquo;s pretty much in jeopardy,&rdquo; said Morant, who missed the final three games of&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">Memphis&rsquo; semifinals loss to eventual champ Golden State</a>&nbsp;with an injured knee.
Pain level and how effective he can be will decide if Morant can play.
&ldquo;I feel like I can go out there and be somewhat myself, I&rsquo;ll be playing,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;If not, I don&rsquo;t want to do anything to hurt the team.&rdquo;
The Clippers survived their opener by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/clippers-suns-leonard-durant-westbrook-28319b522530ea87a035106976478d04">beating No. 4 seed Phoenix 115-110</a>&nbsp;without eight-time All-Star guard Paul George, who&rsquo;s been sidelined by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clippers-paul-george-injury-b0d5e91971a68b5a970ae3f6c2c7933e">sprained right knee</a>&nbsp;since late March.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham may have been the happiest coach after sending Davis to the locker room with 1:15 left in the second quarter to make sure the medical team started working on the eight-time All-Star immediately.
&ldquo;Just happy he&rsquo;s OK,&rdquo; Ham said.

Injuries to some of the NBA’s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason and changed title odds in both conferences.

Injuries to NBA stars Giannis, Ja dim start of postseason

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with say, the Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
&nbsp;

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with say, the Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&nbsp;

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with say, the Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with, say, the Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Stephen Curry offers a simple answer for all the back and forth between his four-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors and the upstart Memphis Grizzlies over the past two seasons.
For Curry, it&rsquo;s not a feud or a bitter rivalry. The Warriors don&rsquo;t have the same history with the Grizzlies that they do with, say, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Or with LeBron James in whatever uniform he&rsquo;s wearing.
&ldquo;Just a team that is tough to beat,&rdquo; Curry said about the Grizzlies. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re really talented. ... Also a team that you&rsquo;re going to need to play well to beat, but the history isn&rsquo;t there yet.&rdquo;
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. disagrees.
&ldquo;Every time we touch the floor, it&rsquo;s a rivalry,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We saw this team many times. We feel like every single time we&rsquo;re out there with them, it&rsquo;s a rivalry for sure.&rdquo;
There always seems to be some drama, a little something extra when the teams meet: hard fouls, trash-talking or some other theatrics.
Warriors guard Jordan Poole said earlier this week: &ldquo;I guess some days you can call it a rivalry.&rdquo;
Whatever it is, the Warriors and the young, brash Grizzlies are usually must-see TV.
The bad blood between the two really began to percolate during last season&rsquo;s playoffs when Gary Payton II suffered a broken left elbow in Game 2 after a flagrant foul that that got&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-san-francisco-c76fd29fd389dc57194c175d04f13816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memphis&rsquo; Dillon Brooks suspended for Game 3</a>.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Brooks crossed the line and &ldquo;broke the code&rdquo; of NBA conduct.
Ja Morant fired back after limping off in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee while trying to strip the ball and Morant later posted, and then deleted, video of the play with the words &ldquo;broke the code.&rdquo;
And the ill will has carried over into their first three games this season:
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-ty-jerome-41a9de4ea17e5aa5d238b745d8c1e8f6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Klay Thompson drew a technical in that Christmas night win for standing over and taunting Dillon Brooks</a>&nbsp;as he was down on the court. Thompson called it &ldquo;some good old-fashioned trash talk.&rdquo; Poole was ejected, and even Kerr drew one of Golden State&rsquo;s six technicals in the game.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-e5da616ca60fa9856fe50e69263c3770" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Curry was ejected from Golden State&rsquo;s 122-120 win</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 25 after tossing his mouthpiece in frustration, seemingly more with this teammates than with the Grizzlies.
&mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1634007790485110785?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooks and Green got up close and personal</a>&nbsp;after a steal and bucket in Memphis&rsquo; 131-110 wire-to-wire win a week ago, standing face-to-face with the 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green said after the game Brooks was trying to bait him into a technical foul but that he only draws a tech when he wants.
&ldquo;One of us (is) baitable and one of us&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t, said Green, who had said on his podcast before that game that the Grizzlies&rsquo; dynasty would start only after they get rid of Brooks.
Brooks responded after the Grizzlies&rsquo; win: &ldquo;The fact that he was trying to pin my teammates against me. That was a low blow. But that&rsquo;s the type of player he is.&rdquo;
So, no the history isn&rsquo;t there and the Warriors downplay the matchup &mdash; it&rsquo;s clear the Grizzlies have Golden State&rsquo;s attention.
There should be playoff atmosphere Saturday in the teams&rsquo; final regular-season matchup, which has postseason implications.
Morant will still be sidelined as&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part of his now eight-game suspension by the NBA</a>&nbsp;for displaying a gun while at a Colorado strip club in the early hours of March 4. Though Memphis routed Golden State last week without Morant.
Golden State needs every road win it can steal down the stretch. The Warriors are 7-27 away from home this season. Curry, who is having another MVP-caliber season, understands the urgency and had&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kawhi-leonard-stephen-curry-warriors-clippers-ab330413ab5eb55fb06b29e9351ab37a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">50 points Wednesday night in a road loss</a>&nbsp;against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Grizzlies would like to extend the Warriors&rsquo; road woes, not that they need any extra incentives when playing Golden State.
&ldquo;We have all the motivation that we need playing this team just as is, just the history that we got with them,&rdquo; Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always a battle. It&rsquo;s always an intense matchup.&rdquo;
Green made clear the standard that he uses to gauge whether or not the Warriors and Grizzlies becme a true rivalry: winning titles, not a game here or there.
&ldquo;Clearly we won four times, and I think their organization has zero championships, so I can&rsquo;t consider that a rivalry,&rdquo; Green said.
Maybe not, but their matchups have been very entertaining.

Whether Warriors vs. Grizzlies has become a full-blown rivalry or not, there's no question their match-ups are usually must-see TV.

NBA feud or rivalry? Warriors, Memphis drama is must-see TV

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Golden State Warriors 134-95 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a sixth game in the Western Conference semifinal.
Dillon Brooks added 12 points for Memphis. Ziaire Williams and Brandon Clarke had 11 apiece and De&rsquo;Anthony Melton 10. Steven Adams had 13 rebounds, six offensive.
The Grizzlies never trailed, turning in their best performance of this series to pull to 3-2 even with All-Star guard Ja Morant sitting out his second straight game because of a bone bruise in his right knee. They improved to 4-11 when facing elimination.
Memphis scored 77 points in the first half, the most in franchise postseason history. The Grizzlies pushed their lead to 55 in the third quarter, threatening the three biggest postseason blowouts in NBA history. Their 52-point lead after three tied for the largest in a playoff game in the past 70 years.
When Memphis fans chanted &ldquo;Whoop That Trick! Whoop That Trick!&rdquo; early in the fourth, Stephen Curry laughed on the court laughing while Draymond Green swung a towel in unison with the crowd.
Game 6 is Friday night in San Francisco, where the Warriors have won five straight playoff games and their last seven overall.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Golden State Warriors 134-95 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a sixth game in the Western Conference semifinal.
Dillon Brooks added 12 points for Memphis. Ziaire Williams and Brandon Clarke had 11 apiece and De&rsquo;Anthony Melton 10. Steven Adams had 13 rebounds, six offensive.
The Grizzlies never trailed, turning in their best performance of this series to pull to 3-2 even with All-Star guard Ja Morant sitting out his second straight game because of a bone bruise in his right knee. They improved to 4-11 when facing elimination.
Memphis scored 77 points in the first half, the most in franchise postseason history. The Grizzlies pushed their lead to 55 in the third quarter, threatening the three biggest postseason blowouts in NBA history. Their 52-point lead after three tied for the largest in a playoff game in the past 70 years.
When Memphis fans chanted &ldquo;Whoop That Trick! Whoop That Trick!&rdquo; early in the fourth, Stephen Curry laughed on the court laughing while Draymond Green swung a towel in unison with the crowd.
Game 6 is Friday night in San Francisco, where the Warriors have won five straight playoff games and their last seven overall.&nbsp;
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 19 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 17, Curry had 14 and Damion Lee and Moses Moody each had 10.
The Warriors lost for the first time with assistant Mike Brown filling in for coach Steve Kerr, who missed his second straight game since testing positive for COVID before Game 4.
The Grizzlies got back to doing the things that helped the post the second-best record during the regular season. They outrebounded Golden State and dominated on the offensive boards. They forced plenty of turnovers and got their best production from the bench of this series.
Golden State, thanks to Poole coming off the bench, had outscored Memphis&rsquo; reserves each of the first four games. Facing elimination, the Grizzlies had a 28-8 edge through the first two quarters and finished with a 52-35 margin.
Memphis led 38-28 at the end of the first quarter and continued a 24-8 run into the second quarter to go up 53-36t. They finished the second on a 20-4 run, including 14 straight, to outscore Golden State 39-22 for a 77-50 lead at halftime.
Then the Grizzlies opened the third quarter outscoring Golden State 20-6, prompting fans to start chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick.&rdquo; Memphis just pushing, outscoring Golden State 42-17 in the third for a 119-67 lead going into the fourth.
Brown benched most of his starters by 3:44 of the third, and Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins followed to start the fourth resting up for a flight to California and Game 6.
TIP-INS
Warriors: The 77 points allowed in the first half matched the most allowed all season. They also gave up 77 on Jan. 13 at Milwaukee. ... The Warriors also fell to 12-4 in Game 5s since 2015. ... Nemanja Bjelica started the third quarter in place of Jonathan Kuminga. Bjelica had played only four minutes in this series. ... Otto Porter Jr. played 12 minutes before being sidelined by a sore right foot.
Grizzlies: They matched their most first-half points, also scoring 77 against New Orleans on March 8. They did it by outscoring Golden State 24-5 on second-chance points with a 18-4 edge on the offensive boards.
POSTSEASON BLOWOUTS
The Bucks also led Philadelphia by 52 (124-72) on March 30, 1970. Denver beat New Orleans by 58 on April 27, 2009, matching the margin Minneapolis beat St. Louis on March 19, 1956. Golden State beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 56 on April 21, 1973.
GRIZZLIES&rsquo; D
Memphis scored 25 points off turnovers in the first half &mdash; most by any team in the 1st half over the last 25 postseasons. The Warriors had been averaging 19 turnovers a game in this series and had 14 by halftime and finished with 20.
BROWN&rsquo;S FIRST LOSS
Brown, the next coach of the Sacramento Kings, had been 12-0 coaching the Warriors in the postseason, winning 11 straight in the 2017 playoffs. He also won Game 4 when the Warriors took the lead for the first time with 45.7 seconds left to pull out a win for a 3-1 series lead.&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Golden State Warriors 134-95 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a sixth game in the Western Conference semifinal.
Dillon Brooks added 12 points for Memphis. Ziaire Williams and Brandon Clarke had 11 apiece and De&rsquo;Anthony Melton 10. Steven Adams had 13 rebounds, six offensive.
The Grizzlies never trailed, turning in their best performance of this series to pull to 3-2 even with All-Star guard Ja Morant sitting out his second straight game because of a bone bruise in his right knee. They improved to 4-11 when facing elimination.
Memphis scored 77 points in the first half, the most in franchise postseason history. The Grizzlies pushed their lead to 55 in the third quarter, threatening the three biggest postseason blowouts in NBA history. Their 52-point lead after three tied for the largest in a playoff game in the past 70 years.
When Memphis fans chanted &ldquo;Whoop That Trick! Whoop That Trick!&rdquo; early in the fourth, Stephen Curry laughed on the court laughing while Draymond Green swung a towel in unison with the crowd.
Game 6 is Friday night in San Francisco, where the Warriors have won five straight playoff games and their last seven overall.&nbsp;
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 19 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 17, Curry had 14 and Damion Lee and Moses Moody each had 10.
The Warriors lost for the first time with assistant Mike Brown filling in for coach Steve Kerr, who missed his second straight game since testing positive for COVID before Game 4.
The Grizzlies got back to doing the things that helped the post the second-best record during the regular season. They outrebounded Golden State and dominated on the offensive boards. They forced plenty of turnovers and got their best production from the bench of this series.
Golden State, thanks to Poole coming off the bench, had outscored Memphis&rsquo; reserves each of the first four games. Facing elimination, the Grizzlies had a 28-8 edge through the first two quarters and finished with a 52-35 margin.
Memphis led 38-28 at the end of the first quarter and continued a 24-8 run into the second quarter to go up 53-36t. They finished the second on a 20-4 run, including 14 straight, to outscore Golden State 39-22 for a 77-50 lead at halftime.
Then the Grizzlies opened the third quarter outscoring Golden State 20-6, prompting fans to start chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick.&rdquo; Memphis just pushing, outscoring Golden State 42-17 in the third for a 119-67 lead going into the fourth.
Brown benched most of his starters by 3:44 of the third, and Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins followed to start the fourth resting up for a flight to California and Game 6.
TIP-INS
Warriors: The 77 points allowed in the first half matched the most allowed all season. They also gave up 77 on Jan. 13 at Milwaukee. ... The Warriors also fell to 12-4 in Game 5s since 2015. ... Nemanja Bjelica started the third quarter in place of Jonathan Kuminga. Bjelica had played only four minutes in this series. ... Otto Porter Jr. played 12 minutes before being sidelined by a sore right foot.
Grizzlies: They matched their most first-half points, also scoring 77 against New Orleans on March 8. They did it by outscoring Golden State 24-5 on second-chance points with a 18-4 edge on the offensive boards.
POSTSEASON BLOWOUTS
The Bucks also led Philadelphia by 52 (124-72) on March 30, 1970. Denver beat New Orleans by 58 on April 27, 2009, matching the margin Minneapolis beat St. Louis on March 19, 1956. Golden State beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 56 on April 21, 1973.
GRIZZLIES&rsquo; D
Memphis scored 25 points off turnovers in the first half &mdash; most by any team in the 1st half over the last 25 postseasons. The Warriors had been averaging 19 turnovers a game in this series and had 14 by halftime and finished with 20.
BROWN&rsquo;S FIRST LOSS
Brown, the next coach of the Sacramento Kings, had been 12-0 coaching the Warriors in the postseason, winning 11 straight in the 2017 playoffs. He also won Game 4 when the Warriors took the lead for the first time with 45.7 seconds left to pull out a win for a 3-1 series lead.&nbsp;

Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Golden State Warriors 134-95 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a sixth game in the Western Conference semifinal.
Dillon Brooks added 12 points for Memphis. Ziaire Williams and Brandon Clarke had 11 apiece and De&rsquo;Anthony Melton 10. Steven Adams had 13 rebounds, six offensive.
The Grizzlies never trailed, turning in their best performance of this series to pull to 3-2 even with All-Star guard Ja Morant sitting out his second straight game because of a bone bruise in his right knee. They improved to 4-11 when facing elimination.
Memphis scored 77 points in the first half, the most in franchise postseason history. The Grizzlies pushed their lead to 55 in the third quarter, threatening the three biggest postseason blowouts in NBA history. Their 52-point lead after three tied for the largest in a playoff game in the past 70 years.
When Memphis fans chanted &ldquo;Whoop That Trick! Whoop That Trick!&rdquo; early in the fourth, Stephen Curry laughed on the court laughing while Draymond Green swung a towel in unison with the crowd.
Game 6 is Friday night in San Francisco, where the Warriors have won five straight playoff games and their last seven overall.&nbsp;
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 19 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 17, Curry had 14 and Damion Lee and Moses Moody each had 10.
The Warriors lost for the first time with assistant Mike Brown filling in for coach Steve Kerr, who missed his second straight game since testing positive for COVID before Game 4.
The Grizzlies got back to doing the things that helped the post the second-best record during the regular season. They outrebounded Golden State and dominated on the offensive boards. They forced plenty of turnovers and got their best production from the bench of this series.
Golden State, thanks to Poole coming off the bench, had outscored Memphis&rsquo; reserves each of the first four games. Facing elimination, the Grizzlies had a 28-8 edge through the first two quarters and finished with a 52-35 margin.
Memphis led 38-28 at the end of the first quarter and continued a 24-8 run into the second quarter to go up 53-36t. They finished the second on a 20-4 run, including 14 straight, to outscore Golden State 39-22 for a 77-50 lead at halftime.
Then the Grizzlies opened the third quarter outscoring Golden State 20-6, prompting fans to start chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick.&rdquo; Memphis just pushing, outscoring Golden State 42-17 in the third for a 119-67 lead going into the fourth.
Brown benched most of his starters by 3:44 of the third, and Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins followed to start the fourth resting up for a flight to California and Game 6.
TIP-INS
Warriors: The 77 points allowed in the first half matched the most allowed all season. They also gave up 77 on Jan. 13 at Milwaukee. ... The Warriors also fell to 12-4 in Game 5s since 2015. ... Nemanja Bjelica started the third quarter in place of Jonathan Kuminga. Bjelica had played only four minutes in this series. ... Otto Porter Jr. played 12 minutes before being sidelined by a sore right foot.
Grizzlies: They matched their most first-half points, also scoring 77 against New Orleans on March 8. They did it by outscoring Golden State 24-5 on second-chance points with a 18-4 edge on the offensive boards.
POSTSEASON BLOWOUTS
The Bucks also led Philadelphia by 52 (124-72) on March 30, 1970. Denver beat New Orleans by 58 on April 27, 2009, matching the margin Minneapolis beat St. Louis on March 19, 1956. Golden State beat the Los Angeles Lakers by 56 on April 21, 1973.
GRIZZLIES&rsquo; D
Memphis scored 25 points off turnovers in the first half &mdash; most by any team in the 1st half over the last 25 postseasons. The Warriors had been averaging 19 turnovers a game in this series and had 14 by halftime and finished with 20.
BROWN&rsquo;S FIRST LOSS
Brown, the next coach of the Sacramento Kings, had been 12-0 coaching the Warriors in the postseason, winning 11 straight in the 2017 playoffs. He also won Game 4 when the Warriors took the lead for the first time with 45.7 seconds left to pull out a win for a 3-1 series lead.&nbsp;

Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Grizzlies routed the Warriors 134-95.

Grizzlies rout Warriors to avoid elimination, force Game 6

Ja Morant scored 47 points to match his postseason high and carry the Memphis Grizzlies into a tie in the Western Conference semifinals with a 106-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Morant scored the last 15 points for Memphis, starting with 4:16 left. He drove and turned around a defender before hitting a 7-foot jumper with 1:42 left to put Memphis ahead to stay at 100-99. He added four free throws and a 9-footer finishing with 18 in the fourth quarter.
The NBA&rsquo;s Most Improved Player, who also had 47 in Game 2 against Utah last year, became only the third player in league history to have multiple 45-point games in the postseason before turning 23. The other two? LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
Ziaire William hit four 3s and finished with 14 points off the bench. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 12 points before fouling out for the third time in eight games this postseason. Brandon Clarke added 10 points.
Now the youngest team to reach the semifinal round in the last 25 years heads to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday night knowing the series will return to Memphis for Game 5.&nbsp;
Stephen Curry finished with 27 points on 3-of-11 shooting outside the arc. Jordan Poole added 20 off the bench but was 1 of 6 from 3. Andrew Wiggins had 16, going 1 of 7 from 3. Klay Thompson finished with 12 points and was 2 of 12 from 3. The Warriors shot just 7 of 38 from 3-point range.
The Warriors, in the semifinals for the seventh time in 10 years, had their chances. Trailing 104-101, Curry passed to Green, who tossed it to Thompson, who traveled with 17 seconds left. Morant hit two free throws for the final margin.
The Grizzlies are coming off the franchise&rsquo;s first series win in seven years. But a team that was the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest squad during the regular season is trying to take Memphis past the second round, something this franchise has done only once back in 2013.
It didn&rsquo;t get easier when Dillon Brooks, averaging 15 points this postseason and whose job was defending Curry, was ejected with 9:08 left in the first quarter after a hard foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II. Payton went to the locker room for X-rays on his left elbow. He didn&rsquo;t return.
Green, ejected from Game 1 for his own Flagrant 2, went down a couple minutes after Brooks&rsquo; ejection. He went to the locker room, flashing the middle digit on each hand at the fans. He returned for the second quarter after getting stitches for a cut at his right eye that was nearly swollen shut by halftime.
Memphis scored the first eight points of the game and led 33-25 after the hectic first quarter with Morant scoring 14, Jackson 10. Curry had 11 for Golden State with Brooks in the locker room. The second quarter got a bit sloppy at times with the Warriors going 2 of 11 outside the arc with five turnovers.
The Grizzlies led 56-51 at halftime with Morant scoring the final four points of the second for Memphis, giving him 23.
Curry and Poole fueled a big third quarter in Game 1 combining for 23 points. This time, Curry scored four points and Poole had six, but Golden State finished the third on a 13-3 run to tie it up at 77. Morant was hit in the face in the final seconds and went to the bench saying he couldn&rsquo;t see out of his left eye.
Golden State took its first lead of the game within the opening minute of the fourth on a layup by Poole, and the Warriors led by as much as 81-77. Memphis answered with a 9-2 run capped by back-to-back 3s from Williams, who missed the last two playoff games with a sore right knee.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Now are 39-34 in Game 2s and 18-9 since the 2015 playoffs. ... Thompson needed only one 3 to reach 400 for his career in the playoffs. He knocked that down with 7:16 left in the first quarter. ... They outrebounded Memphis matching their postseason high for a second straight game at 52-47.
Grizzlies: Morant snapped a streak of six straight double-doubles that made him the youngest in 30 years with that long a streak in one postseason. ... Jackson tied Zach Randolph for third on the franchise&rsquo;s career blocks list in the postseason with his 24th a minute into the third quarter. ... They shot 14 of 45 from 3.
IN THE CROWD
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was at the game with three former Spartans in this game, including Warriors forward Draymond Green. Izzo posed for a photo before the game with Xavier Tillman Sr. and Jackson.&nbsp;

Ja Morant scored 47 points to match his postseason high and carry the Memphis Grizzlies into a tie in the Western Conference semifinals with a 106-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Morant scored the last 15 points for Memphis, starting with 4:16 left. He drove and turned around a defender before hitting a 7-foot jumper with 1:42 left to put Memphis ahead to stay at 100-99. He added four free throws and a 9-footer finishing with 18 in the fourth quarter.
The NBA&rsquo;s Most Improved Player, who also had 47 in Game 2 against Utah last year, became only the third player in league history to have multiple 45-point games in the postseason before turning 23. The other two? LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
Ziaire Williams hit four 3s and finished with 14 points off the bench. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 12 points before fouling out for the third time in eight games this postseason. Brandon Clarke added 10 points.
Now the youngest team to reach the semifinal round in the last 25 years heads to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday night knowing the series will return to Memphis for Game 5.&nbsp;
Stephen Curry finished with 27 points on 3-of-11 shooting outside the arc. Jordan Poole added 20 off the bench but was 1 of 6 from 3. Andrew Wiggins had 16, going 1 of 7 from 3. Klay Thompson finished with 12 points and was 2 of 12 from 3. The Warriors shot just 7 of 38 from 3-point range.
The Warriors, in the semifinals for the seventh time in 10 years, had their chances. Trailing 104-101, Curry passed to Green, who tossed it to Thompson, who traveled with 17 seconds left. Morant hit two free throws for the final margin.
The Grizzlies are coming off the franchise&rsquo;s first series win in seven years. But a team that was the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest squad during the regular season is trying to take Memphis past the second round, something this franchise has done only once back in 2013.
It didn&rsquo;t get easier when Dillon Brooks, averaging 15 points this postseason and whose job was defending Curry, was ejected with 9:08 left in the first quarter after a hard foul on Warriors guard Gary Payton II. Payton went to the locker room for X-rays on his left elbow. He didn&rsquo;t return.
Green, ejected from Game 1 for his own Flagrant 2, went down a couple minutes after Brooks&rsquo; ejection. He went to the locker room, flashing the middle digit on each hand at the fans. He returned for the second quarter after getting stitches for a cut at his right eye that was nearly swollen shut by halftime.
Memphis scored the first eight points of the game and led 33-25 after the hectic first quarter with Morant scoring 14, Jackson 10. Curry had 11 for Golden State with Brooks in the locker room. The second quarter got a bit sloppy at times with the Warriors going 2 of 11 outside the arc with five turnovers.
The Grizzlies led 56-51 at halftime with Morant scoring the final four points of the second for Memphis, giving him 23.
Curry and Poole fueled a big third quarter in Game 1 combining for 23 points. This time, Curry scored four points and Poole had six, but Golden State finished the third on a 13-3 run to tie it up at 77. Morant was hit in the face in the final seconds and went to the bench saying he couldn&rsquo;t see out of his left eye.
Golden State took its first lead of the game within the opening minute of the fourth on a layup by Poole, and the Warriors led by as much as 81-77. Memphis answered with a 9-2 run capped by back-to-back 3s from Williams, who missed the last two playoff games with a sore right knee.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Now are 39-34 in Game 2s and 18-9 since the 2015 playoffs. ... Thompson needed only one 3 to reach 400 for his career in the playoffs. He knocked that down with 7:16 left in the first quarter. ... They outrebounded Memphis matching their postseason high for a second straight game at 52-47.
Grizzlies: Morant snapped a streak of six straight double-doubles that made him the youngest in 30 years with that long a streak in one postseason. ... Jackson tied Zach Randolph for third on the franchise&rsquo;s career blocks list in the postseason with his 24th a minute into the third quarter. ... They shot 14 of 45 from 3.
IN THE CROWD
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was at the game with three former Spartans in this game, including Warriors forward Draymond Green. Izzo posed for a photo before the game with Xavier Tillman Sr. and Jackson.&nbsp;

Ja Morant scored 47 points to match his postseason high and carry the Grizzlies into a tie in the West semifinals with a 106-101 victory.

Morant scores 47 points, Grizzlies tie Warriors at one apiece

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant scored on a layup with a second left, and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-109 on Tuesday night and grab a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference series. 
Morant, named the NBA’s most improved player on Monday, struggled mightily much of the game. But he turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 18 points — including 9 of 10 at the free-throw line.
Morant came from the low post as the Grizzlies inbounded the ball with 3.7 seconds left and lost Anthony Edwards at the top of the key. That left him an open lane into the paint that he’s so rarely had in this series, beating Jarred Vanderbilt with his left hand on an underhanded layup.
Morant finished with 30 and had 13 rebounds and nine assists. Desmond Bane added 25 points, and Brandon Clarke had 21 off the bench for Memphis, and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12 before fouling out.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony Edwards had 22, and D'Angelo Russell added 12 and Taurean Prince 10. 
Game 6 is Friday night in Minnesota. 
The Timberwolves led 99-88 with 6:58 left after three free throws by Towns and Jackson fouling out for a second straight game. The Grizzlies responded with a 10-0 run to set up a thrilling finish to what had been an ugly game with plenty of poor shooting. 
Edwards tied it up at 109 for Minnesota with a 3 with 3.7 seconds left. That set up Morant for the final drive to the basket for the game-winner.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins was fined $15,000 Monday for criticizing the officiating after Game 4, a 119-118 win by Minnesota. On Tuesday, his Grizzlies got to the free-throw line more than Minnesota — they just didn’t shoot well once there, making 26 of 39 compared to Minnesota's 21 of 24. 
The Grizzlies opened the game on a 13-2 run and looked liked the team that earned the highest seed in franchise history.
Then Jackson got his second foul on Patrick Beverley’s 3 and went to the bench. The Timberwolves, the NBA’s best 3-point shooting team in the regular season, started knocking down shots, going 7 of 11 outside the arc and leading 31-28 at the end of the first quarter. 
The second quarter was a different story, with Minnesota hitting only 1 of 9 outside the arc and leading 55-53 at halftime. 
Minnesota outscored Memphis 30-21 in the third, but <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1519128062952189952">Morant capped the quarter with a windmill dunk that helped give the Grizzlies some much-needed energy. </a>
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Russell came in 17 of 55 overall and 9 of 24 from beyond the arc in this series. He knocked down his first two shots Tuesday, a pair of back-to-back 3s, and finished 2 of 4 from 3 and 4 of 10 from the floor. ... Beverley had their first four-point play in the postseason at 8:14 of the first quarter.
Grizzlies: Bane got a technical in the second quarter for shoving Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. Bane also opened the game with his 20th 3-point in this series. ... Ziaire Williams played four minutes and did not finish the game with a sore right knee. 
IN THE CROWD
Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph were former Grizzlies in attendance along with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Kentucky coach John Calipari sat near the Timberwolves' bench. Alex Rodriguez, a Minnesota co-owner, also was in attendance, and <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1519103401333866497">Usher was on hand</a> as well <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1519109240065040384">sitting next to Morant's father Tee</a>. 
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Ja Morant scored on a layup with a second left, and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-109 on Tuesday night and grab a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.
Morant, named the NBA&rsquo;s most improved player on Monday, struggled mightily much of the game. But he turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 18 points &mdash; including 9 of 10 at the free-throw line.
Morant came from the low post as the Grizzlies inbounded the ball with 3.7 seconds left and lost Anthony Edwards at the top of the key. That left him an open lane into the paint that he&rsquo;s so rarely had in this series, beating Jarred Vanderbilt with his left hand on an underhanded layup.
Morant finished with 30 and had 13 rebounds and nine assists. Desmond Bane added 25 points, and Brandon Clarke had 21 off the bench for Memphis, and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12 before fouling out.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony Edwards had 22, and D'Angelo Russell added 12 and Taurean Prince 10.
Game 6 is Friday night in Minnesota.
The Timberwolves led 99-88 with 6:58 left after three free throws by Towns and Jackson fouling out for a second straight game. The Grizzlies responded with a 10-0 run to set up a thrilling finish to what had been an ugly game with plenty of poor shooting.
Edwards tied it up at 109 for Minnesota with a 3 with 3.7 seconds left. That set up Morant for the final drive to the basket for the game-winner.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins was fined $15,000 Monday for criticizing the officiating after Game 4, a 119-118 win by Minnesota. On Tuesday, his Grizzlies got to the free-throw line more than Minnesota &mdash; they just didn&rsquo;t shoot well once there, making 26 of 39 compared to Minnesota's 21 of 24.
The Grizzlies opened the game on a 13-2 run and looked liked the team that earned the highest seed in franchise history.
Then Jackson got his second foul on Patrick Beverley&rsquo;s 3 and went to the bench. The Timberwolves, the NBA&rsquo;s best 3-point shooting team in the regular season, started knocking down shots, going 7 of 11 outside the arc and leading 31-28 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a different story, with Minnesota hitting only 1 of 9 outside the arc and leading 55-53 at halftime.
Minnesota outscored Memphis 30-21 in the third, but <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1519128062952189952">Morant capped the quarter with a windmill dunk that helped give the Grizzlies some much-needed energy. </a>
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Russell came in 17 of 55 overall and 9 of 24 from beyond the arc in this series. He knocked down his first two shots Tuesday, a pair of back-to-back 3s, and finished 2 of 4 from 3 and 4 of 10 from the floor. ... Beverley had their first four-point play in the postseason at 8:14 of the first quarter.
Grizzlies: Bane got a technical in the second quarter for shoving Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. Bane also opened the game with his 20th 3-point in this series. ... Ziaire Williams played four minutes and did not finish the game with a sore right knee.
IN THE CROWD
Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph were former Grizzlies in attendance along with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Kentucky coach John Calipari sat near the Timberwolves' bench. Alex Rodriguez, a Minnesota co-owner, also was in attendance, and <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1519103401333866497">Usher was on hand</a> as well <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1519109240065040384">sitting next to Morant's father Tee</a>.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Ja Morant scored on a layup with a second left, and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-109 on Tuesday night and grab a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.
Morant, named the NBA&rsquo;s most improved player on Monday, struggled mightily much of the game. But he turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 18 points &mdash; including 9 of 10 at the free-throw line.
Morant came from the low post as the Grizzlies inbounded the ball with 3.7 seconds left and lost Anthony Edwards at the top of the key. That left him an open lane into the paint that he&rsquo;s so rarely had in this series, beating Jarred Vanderbilt with his left hand on an underhanded layup.
Morant finished with 30 and had 13 rebounds and nine assists. Desmond Bane added 25 points, and Brandon Clarke had 21 off the bench for Memphis, and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12 before fouling out.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony Edwards had 22, and D'Angelo Russell added 12 and Taurean Prince 10.
Game 6 is Friday night in Minnesota.
The Timberwolves led 99-88 with 6:58 left after three free throws by Towns and Jackson fouling out for a second straight game. The Grizzlies responded with a 10-0 run to set up a thrilling finish to what had been an ugly game with plenty of poor shooting.
Edwards tied it up at 109 for Minnesota with a 3 with 3.7 seconds left. That set up Morant for the final drive to the basket for the game-winner.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins was fined $15,000 Monday for criticizing the officiating after Game 4, a 119-118 win by Minnesota. On Tuesday, his Grizzlies got to the free-throw line more than Minnesota &mdash; they just didn&rsquo;t shoot well once there, making 26 of 39 compared to Minnesota's 21 of 24.
The Grizzlies opened the game on a 13-2 run and looked liked the team that earned the highest seed in franchise history.
Then Jackson got his second foul on Patrick Beverley&rsquo;s 3 and went to the bench. The Timberwolves, the NBA&rsquo;s best 3-point shooting team in the regular season, started knocking down shots, going 7 of 11 outside the arc and leading 31-28 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a different story, with Minnesota hitting only 1 of 9 outside the arc and leading 55-53 at halftime.
Minnesota outscored Memphis 30-21 in the third, but <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1519128062952189952">Morant capped the quarter with a windmill dunk that helped give the Grizzlies some much-needed energy. </a>
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Russell came in 17 of 55 overall and 9 of 24 from beyond the arc in this series. He knocked down his first two shots Tuesday, a pair of back-to-back 3s, and finished 2 of 4 from 3 and 4 of 10 from the floor. ... Beverley had their first four-point play in the postseason at 8:14 of the first quarter.
Grizzlies: Bane got a technical in the second quarter for shoving Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. Bane also opened the game with his 20th 3-point in this series. ... Ziaire Williams played four minutes and did not finish the game with a sore right knee.
IN THE CROWD
Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph were former Grizzlies in attendance along with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Kentucky coach John Calipari sat near the Timberwolves' bench. Alex Rodriguez, a Minnesota co-owner, also was in attendance, and <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1519103401333866497">Usher was on hand</a> as well <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1519109240065040384">sitting next to Morant's father Tee</a>.

Ja Morant scored on a layup with a second left, and the Grizzlies rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to edge the Wolves.

Morant's last-second layup gives Grizzlies 3-2 series lead

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA&rsquo;s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 on Tuesday night to even up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece.
Morant went to the bench with 4:40 left to a huge ovation. He finished a rebound shy of a triple-double. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. each added 16 with Jackson hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range as the Grizzlies finished with seven in double figures.
Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Ziaire Williams each had 13. Tyus Jones added 10.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points in his playoff debut in Game 1, led Minnesota with 20. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Naz Reid and Taurean Prince had 12 each off the bench, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 11.
The Timberwolves dominated the series opener after scoring a franchise-record 41 points in the first quarter.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA&rsquo;s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 on Tuesday night to even up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece.
Morant went to the bench with 4:40 left to a huge ovation. He finished a rebound shy of a triple-double. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. each added 16 with Jackson hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range as the Grizzlies finished with seven in double figures.
Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Ziaire Williams each had 13. Tyus Jones added 10.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points in his playoff debut in Game 1, led Minnesota with 20. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Naz Reid and Taurean Prince had 12 each off the bench, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 11.
The Timberwolves dominated the series opener after scoring a franchise-record 41 points in the first quarter.&nbsp;
This time, officials stayed very busy calling 20 fouls in a very long first quarter. That kept the NBA&rsquo;s top scoring teams in the regular season from getting into any rhythm as they combined to shoot 33 free throws.
At one point, Memphis had Steven Adams, Jackson, Clarke and Dillon Brooks on the bench with two fouls. That forced coach Taylor Jenkins to turn to Tillman who didn&rsquo;t play in Game 1, and he turned in the best playoff game of his young career.
The Grizzlies grabbed their biggest lead of this short series at 30-23 on a floater by Jones with 2:11 left, and they led 33-32 after the first quarter when Morant&rsquo;s long buzzer-beater attempt hit off the rim and off.
Memphis started running in the second and opened the quarter with an 11-2 run and finished on an 11-5 run for a 60-49 lead at halftime with Morant not scoring a point. Patrick Beverley summed up Minnesota&rsquo;s struggles when his layup before the buzzer rolled off the rim.
The Grizzlies pushed that lead to as much as 27 with a 25-9 run in the third, and Morant scored 12 in the quarter hitting 5 of 7 shots, including both 3-pointers. His layup gave Memphis a 87-60 lead with 4:15 to go in the third, and the Grizzlies led 96-77 going into the fourth.
Minnesota was the NBA&rsquo;s best-shooting team outside the arc and outscored Memphis 48-21 in Game 1 as the Grizzlies shooting 26% outside the arc with only three knocking down a 3-pointer. This time, Memphis shot 11-of-34 with six Grizzlies knocking down at least one.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: The NBA&rsquo;s top scoring team shot 39.5%. They had 30 field goals, matching the season low against Toronto on Feb. 16. ... After knocking down 16 3s in Game 1, they were 11 of 38 (28.9%). ... Russell now is 5 of 22 in this series.
Grizzlies: Entering the game had lost four of their last five games including the series opener. &hellip;Jackson, who matched his career high with seven blocks in the opener, had one Tuesday night. But he knocked down four 3s ... D&rsquo;Anthony Melton came in 8 of 26 from 3-point range. He was 2 of 6. ... Adams played three minutes after picking up two early fouls. ... They had 29 assists and now are 29-1 when they have at least 28 assists.
TESTY EARLY
It didn&rsquo;t take long in the game for things to get a bit chippy. Officials called a foul on Towns early, then on the same play got Patrick Beverley for a technical after a swipe at Morant&rsquo;s head. Then Adams got called for a foul that was upgraded to a flagrant 1 after he smacked Jarred Vanderbilt across the face. And all that was in the first three minutes.
UP NEXT
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA&rsquo;s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 on Tuesday night to even up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece.
Morant went to the bench with 4:40 left to a huge ovation. He finished a rebound shy of a triple-double. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. each added 16 with Jackson hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range as the Grizzlies finished with seven in double figures.
Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Ziaire Williams each had 13. Tyus Jones added 10.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points in his playoff debut in Game 1, led Minnesota with 20. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Naz Reid and Taurean Prince had 12 each off the bench, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 11.
The Timberwolves dominated the series opener after scoring a franchise-record 41 points in the first quarter.&nbsp;
This time, officials stayed very busy calling 20 fouls in a very long first quarter. That kept the NBA&rsquo;s top scoring teams in the regular season from getting into any rhythm as they combined to shoot 33 free throws.
At one point, Memphis had Steven Adams, Jackson, Clarke and Dillon Brooks on the bench with two fouls. That forced coach Taylor Jenkins to turn to Tillman who didn&rsquo;t play in Game 1, and he turned in the best playoff game of his young career.
The Grizzlies grabbed their biggest lead of this short series at 30-23 on a floater by Jones with 2:11 left, and they led 33-32 after the first quarter when Morant&rsquo;s long buzzer-beater attempt hit off the rim and off.
Memphis started running in the second and opened the quarter with an 11-2 run and finished on an 11-5 run for a 60-49 lead at halftime with Morant not scoring a point. Patrick Beverley summed up Minnesota&rsquo;s struggles when his layup before the buzzer rolled off the rim.
The Grizzlies pushed that lead to as much as 27 with a 25-9 run in the third, and Morant scored 12 in the quarter hitting 5 of 7 shots, including both 3-pointers. His layup gave Memphis a 87-60 lead with 4:15 to go in the third, and the Grizzlies led 96-77 going into the fourth.
Minnesota was the NBA&rsquo;s best-shooting team outside the arc and outscored Memphis 48-21 in Game 1 as the Grizzlies shooting 26% outside the arc with only three knocking down a 3-pointer. This time, Memphis shot 11-of-34 with six Grizzlies knocking down at least one.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: The NBA&rsquo;s top scoring team shot 39.5%. They had 30 field goals, matching the season low against Toronto on Feb. 16. ... After knocking down 16 3s in Game 1, they were 11 of 38 (28.9%). ... Russell now is 5 of 22 in this series.
Grizzlies: Entering the game had lost four of their last five games including the series opener. &hellip;Jackson, who matched his career high with seven blocks in the opener, had one Tuesday night. But he knocked down four 3s ... D&rsquo;Anthony Melton came in 8 of 26 from 3-point range. He was 2 of 6. ... Adams played three minutes after picking up two early fouls. ... They had 29 assists and now are 29-1 when they have at least 28 assists.
TESTY EARLY
It didn&rsquo;t take long in the game for things to get a bit chippy. Officials called a foul on Towns early, then on the same play got Patrick Beverley for a technical after a swipe at Morant&rsquo;s head. Then Adams got called for a foul that was upgraded to a flagrant 1 after he smacked Jarred Vanderbilt across the face. And all that was in the first three minutes.
UP NEXT
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Ja Morant scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA&rsquo;s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 on Tuesday night to even up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece.
Morant went to the bench with 4:40 left to a huge ovation. He finished a rebound shy of a triple-double. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. each added 16 with Jackson hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range as the Grizzlies finished with seven in double figures.
Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Ziaire Williams each had 13. Tyus Jones added 10.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points in his playoff debut in Game 1, led Minnesota with 20. All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Naz Reid and Taurean Prince had 12 each off the bench, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell added 11.
The Timberwolves dominated the series opener after scoring a franchise-record 41 points in the first quarter.&nbsp;
This time, officials stayed very busy calling 20 fouls in a very long first quarter. That kept the NBA&rsquo;s top scoring teams in the regular season from getting into any rhythm as they combined to shoot 33 free throws.
At one point, Memphis had Steven Adams, Jackson, Clarke and Dillon Brooks on the bench with two fouls. That forced coach Taylor Jenkins to turn to Tillman who didn&rsquo;t play in Game 1, and he turned in the best playoff game of his young career.
The Grizzlies grabbed their biggest lead of this short series at 30-23 on a floater by Jones with 2:11 left, and they led 33-32 after the first quarter when Morant&rsquo;s long buzzer-beater attempt hit off the rim and off.
Memphis started running in the second and opened the quarter with an 11-2 run and finished on an 11-5 run for a 60-49 lead at halftime with Morant not scoring a point. Patrick Beverley summed up Minnesota&rsquo;s struggles when his layup before the buzzer rolled off the rim.
The Grizzlies pushed that lead to as much as 27 with a 25-9 run in the third, and Morant scored 12 in the quarter hitting 5 of 7 shots, including both 3-pointers. His layup gave Memphis a 87-60 lead with 4:15 to go in the third, and the Grizzlies led 96-77 going into the fourth.
Minnesota was the NBA&rsquo;s best-shooting team outside the arc and outscored Memphis 48-21 in Game 1 as the Grizzlies shooting 26% outside the arc with only three knocking down a 3-pointer. This time, Memphis shot 11-of-34 with six Grizzlies knocking down at least one.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: The NBA&rsquo;s top scoring team shot 39.5%. They had 30 field goals, matching the season low against Toronto on Feb. 16. ... After knocking down 16 3s in Game 1, they were 11 of 38 (28.9%). ... Russell now is 5 of 22 in this series.
Grizzlies: Entering the game had lost four of their last five games including the series opener. &hellip;Jackson, who matched his career high with seven blocks in the opener, had one Tuesday night. But he knocked down four 3s ... D&rsquo;Anthony Melton came in 8 of 26 from 3-point range. He was 2 of 6. ... Adams played three minutes after picking up two early fouls. ... They had 29 assists and now are 29-1 when they have at least 28 assists.
TESTY EARLY
It didn&rsquo;t take long in the game for things to get a bit chippy. Officials called a foul on Towns early, then on the same play got Patrick Beverley for a technical after a swipe at Morant&rsquo;s head. Then Adams got called for a foul that was upgraded to a flagrant 1 after he smacked Jarred Vanderbilt across the face. And all that was in the first three minutes.
UP NEXT
Game 3 is Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Ja Morant scored 23 points with 10 assists as the Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA’s second-best record.

Grizzlies rout Timberwolves 124-96 to tie series at one apiece

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his <a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1515417672195862530">postseason debut</a>, and the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 on Saturday to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series. 
Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell had 10 apiece. 
The Timberwolves, fresh off beating the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in game, won their first playoff opener since 2004. That's when they beat Sacramento in the first round on their way to the Western Conference finals. 
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 32 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks added 24 points. Brandon Clarke had 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12.
Memphis tied the franchise record by winning 56 games in the regular season and earning its highest seed ever. The Grizzlies had a packed FedExForum for only their third Game 1 in Memphis. But they struggled early after a week off and led only twice by two, the last midway through the second quarter. 
In this matchup of the NBA's top-scoring offenses and two of the league's youngest teams this season, the <a href="https://twitter.com/Twolves_PR/status/1515426087723057158">Timberwolves set franchise records for points</a> in both the first quarter and the game. They also stymied Memphis with their 3-point shooting, rebounding and defense. 
The Timberwolves looked like a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-eeb23f11c4002d7d2f48dffeac32dcc9">team that played Tuesday night needing a win</a> to clinch its seeding. They opened with a 9-2 run and led by as much as 13 before a 41-33 lead for the franchise’s highest-scoring first quarter in the playoffs.
Minnesota led 65-62 at halftime, then outscored Memphis 32-30 in the third for a 97-92 lead going into the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: They topped the 121 points scored April 21, 2018, against Houston in the only game they won that series. Their first quarter topped the 32 points scored May 23, 2004, in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. ... Towns had his 43rd double-double of the season. ... Russell had five assists in the third quarter. But he was 2 of 11 shooting for eight points after having 37 in his last game against Memphis in February. 
Grizzlies: Jackson set a <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1515445385266933761">franchise playoff record</a> with seven blocks through the first three quarters. That topped the six blocks by Marc Gasol on May 13, 2013, against Oklahoma City. ... Clarke had his fifth double-double of the season. ... Jackson and Steven Adams combined for seven rebounds. 
ANOTHER PROTESTOR
A woman chained herself to the basket stanchion and stopped play with 4:44 left in the second quarter. The woman wore a blue shirt, making clear she was with the animal rights group protesting a Minnesota co-owner’s factory farms, the same situation as the woman who glued herself to the floor in the Timberwolves' play-in game earlier this week. 
The woman, who was not from the Memphis area, had a chain and attached herself to the back of the basket closets to the Timberwolves’ bench. She was taken to the back and removed from the arena after security personnel removed the chain from around her neck. 
UP NEXT
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis. 
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his <a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1515417672195862530">postseason debut</a>, and the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 on Saturday to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell had 10 apiece.
The Timberwolves, fresh off beating the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in game, won their first playoff opener since 2004. That's when they beat Sacramento in the first round on their way to the Western Conference finals.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 32 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks added 24 points. Brandon Clarke had 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12.
Memphis tied the franchise record by winning 56 games in the regular season and earning its highest seed ever. The Grizzlies had a packed FedExForum for only their third Game 1 in Memphis. But they struggled early after a week off and led only twice by two, the last midway through the second quarter.
In this matchup of the NBA's top-scoring offenses and two of the league's youngest teams this season, the <a href="https://twitter.com/Twolves_PR/status/1515426087723057158">Timberwolves set franchise records for points</a> in both the first quarter and the game. They also stymied Memphis with their 3-point shooting, rebounding and defense.
The Timberwolves looked like a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-eeb23f11c4002d7d2f48dffeac32dcc9">team that played Tuesday night needing a win</a> to clinch its seeding. They opened with a 9-2 run and led by as much as 13 before a 41-33 lead for the franchise&rsquo;s highest-scoring first quarter in the playoffs.
Minnesota led 65-62 at halftime, then outscored Memphis 32-30 in the third for a 97-92 lead going into the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: They topped the 121 points scored April 21, 2018, against Houston in the only game they won that series. Their first quarter topped the 32 points scored May 23, 2004, in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. ... Towns had his 43rd double-double of the season. ... Russell had five assists in the third quarter. But he was 2 of 11 shooting for eight points after having 37 in his last game against Memphis in February.
Grizzlies: Jackson set a <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1515445385266933761">franchise playoff record</a> with seven blocks through the first three quarters. That topped the six blocks by Marc Gasol on May 13, 2013, against Oklahoma City. ... Clarke had his fifth double-double of the season. ... Jackson and Steven Adams combined for seven rebounds.
ANOTHER PROTESTOR
A woman chained herself to the basket stanchion and stopped play with 4:44 left in the second quarter. The woman wore a blue shirt, making clear she was with the animal rights group protesting a Minnesota co-owner&rsquo;s factory farms, the same situation as the woman who glued herself to the floor in the Timberwolves' play-in game earlier this week.
The woman, who was not from the Memphis area, had a chain and attached herself to the back of the basket closets to the Timberwolves&rsquo; bench. She was taken to the back and removed from the arena after security personnel removed the chain from around her neck.
UP NEXT
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.

Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his <a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1515417672195862530">postseason debut</a>, and the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 on Saturday to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell had 10 apiece.
The Timberwolves, fresh off beating the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in game, won their first playoff opener since 2004. That's when they beat Sacramento in the first round on their way to the Western Conference finals.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 32 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks added 24 points. Brandon Clarke had 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12.
Memphis tied the franchise record by winning 56 games in the regular season and earning its highest seed ever. The Grizzlies had a packed FedExForum for only their third Game 1 in Memphis. But they struggled early after a week off and led only twice by two, the last midway through the second quarter.
In this matchup of the NBA's top-scoring offenses and two of the league's youngest teams this season, the <a href="https://twitter.com/Twolves_PR/status/1515426087723057158">Timberwolves set franchise records for points</a> in both the first quarter and the game. They also stymied Memphis with their 3-point shooting, rebounding and defense.
The Timberwolves looked like a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-eeb23f11c4002d7d2f48dffeac32dcc9">team that played Tuesday night needing a win</a> to clinch its seeding. They opened with a 9-2 run and led by as much as 13 before a 41-33 lead for the franchise&rsquo;s highest-scoring first quarter in the playoffs.
Minnesota led 65-62 at halftime, then outscored Memphis 32-30 in the third for a 97-92 lead going into the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: They topped the 121 points scored April 21, 2018, against Houston in the only game they won that series. Their first quarter topped the 32 points scored May 23, 2004, in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. ... Towns had his 43rd double-double of the season. ... Russell had five assists in the third quarter. But he was 2 of 11 shooting for eight points after having 37 in his last game against Memphis in February.
Grizzlies: Jackson set a <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1515445385266933761">franchise playoff record</a> with seven blocks through the first three quarters. That topped the six blocks by Marc Gasol on May 13, 2013, against Oklahoma City. ... Clarke had his fifth double-double of the season. ... Jackson and Steven Adams combined for seven rebounds.
ANOTHER PROTESTOR
A woman chained herself to the basket stanchion and stopped play with 4:44 left in the second quarter. The woman wore a blue shirt, making clear she was with the animal rights group protesting a Minnesota co-owner&rsquo;s factory farms, the same situation as the woman who glued herself to the floor in the Timberwolves' play-in game earlier this week.
The woman, who was not from the Memphis area, had a chain and attached herself to the back of the basket closets to the Timberwolves&rsquo; bench. She was taken to the back and removed from the arena after security personnel removed the chain from around her neck.
UP NEXT
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.

Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his <a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1515417672195862530">postseason debut</a>, and the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 on Saturday to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 and 13 rebounds. Malik Beasley had 23 points, and Jaden McDaniels 15. Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell had 10 apiece.
The Timberwolves, fresh off beating the Los Angeles Clippers in the play-in game, won their first playoff opener since 2004. That's when they beat Sacramento in the first round on their way to the Western Conference finals.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 32 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks added 24 points. Brandon Clarke had 13 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12.
Memphis tied the franchise record by winning 56 games in the regular season and earning its highest seed ever. The Grizzlies had a packed FedExForum for only their third Game 1 in Memphis. But they struggled early after a week off and led only twice by two, the last midway through the second quarter.
In this matchup of the NBA's top-scoring offenses and two of the league's youngest teams this season, the <a href="https://twitter.com/Twolves_PR/status/1515426087723057158">Timberwolves set franchise records for points</a> in both the first quarter and the game. They also stymied Memphis with their 3-point shooting, rebounding and defense.
The Timberwolves looked like a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-minnesota-timberwolves-nba-sports-anthony-edwards-eeb23f11c4002d7d2f48dffeac32dcc9">team that played Tuesday night needing a win</a> to clinch its seeding. They opened with a 9-2 run and led by as much as 13 before a 41-33 lead for the franchise&rsquo;s highest-scoring first quarter in the playoffs.
Minnesota led 65-62 at halftime, then outscored Memphis 32-30 in the third for a 97-92 lead going into the fourth quarter.
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: They topped the 121 points scored April 21, 2018, against Houston in the only game they won that series. Their first quarter topped the 32 points scored May 23, 2004, in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. ... Towns had his 43rd double-double of the season. ... Russell had five assists in the third quarter. But he was 2 of 11 shooting for eight points after having 37 in his last game against Memphis in February.
Grizzlies: Jackson set a <a href="https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1515445385266933761">franchise playoff record</a> with seven blocks through the first three quarters. That topped the six blocks by Marc Gasol on May 13, 2013, against Oklahoma City. ... Clarke had his fifth double-double of the season. ... Jackson and Steven Adams combined for seven rebounds.
ANOTHER PROTESTOR
A woman chained herself to the basket stanchion and stopped play with 4:44 left in the second quarter. The woman wore a blue shirt, making clear she was with the animal rights group protesting a Minnesota co-owner&rsquo;s factory farms, the same situation as the woman who glued herself to the floor in the Timberwolves' play-in game earlier this week.
The woman, who was not from the Memphis area, had a chain and attached herself to the back of the basket closets to the Timberwolves&rsquo; bench. She was taken to the back and removed from the arena after security personnel removed the chain from around her neck.
UP NEXT
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.

Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his postseason debut, and the seventh-seeded Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Grizzlies.

Timberwolves stun Grizzlies, grab Game 1 with 130-117 win

Teresa M. Walker is a writer for the Associated Press.