Morant injured in Grizzlies’ victory
Rookie of the Year Ja Morant left the court area in a wheelchair after spraining his left ankle in the first half of the Memphis’ Grizzlies’ 116-111 double-overtime win over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Morant jumped to block a shot by Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and appeared to land on the Nets forward’s foot. He immediately hopped off the floor in pain and was wheeled to the back, unable to put any weight on his foot.
Morant joined his teammates on the bench during the second half with his foot in a walking boot.
Hawks 128, Pistons 120: Trae Young scored 29 points, Bogdan Bogdanovic added 17 and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons 128-120 in their home opener Monday night.
John Collins finished with 15 points for the Hawks, who are 3-0 for the first time since
2016-17 and hit 20 3-pointers while shooting 47.6% beyond the arc. Young’s 3 from the right wing put Atlanta up 122-112 with 1:47 remaining before Jerami Grant’s three trimmed the lead to five with 1:05 left. Collins hit two free throws and Young sealed it with four free throws in the final minute.
The Pistons dropped to 0-3. They were without star forward Blake Griffin and reserve guard Derrick Rose, who were given the night off to rest. Coach Dwane Casey started Josh Jackson, who scored 27 points in Griffin’s spot. Grant had 27 points, and Delon Wright chipped in 18 off the bench.
Wright made two free throws to pull the Pistons within five at the 3:15 mark of the third, but the Hawks went on a 29-16 run that culminated with Cam Reddish’s alley-oop dunk, Bogdanovic’s runner and Rajon Rondo’s jumper, making it 115-91 with 7:43 remaining.
ELSEWHERE
Nets: Brooklyn guard Spencer Dinwiddie partially tore the ACL in his right knee and is out indefinitely. Early in the second half of the Nets’ loss to the Hornets on Sunday, Dinwiddie fell to the floor clutching his right knee after an awkward step in the paint as he passed the ball to Kevin Durant. The team said more details about Dinwiddie’s recovery are expected after surgery next week.
76ers: Philadelphia president Daryl Morey is $50,000 lighter for a deleted tweet about Houston Rockets standout James Harden. On Dec. 20, Morey tweeted an “#OnThisDay” quote tweet on a photo of Harden from Dec. 20, 2019, with the words, “JAMES HARDEN BREAKS CALVIN MURPHY’S FRANCHISE ASSIST RECORD.” Morey spent the last 13 seasons as Rockets general manager. The tweet was sent out from an automated app on the anniversary of Harden’s milestone, but the NBA still fined him for violating the league’s antitampering rule. Harden wants to be traded away from the Rockets.