Grizzlies
one last big play. The players cleared out for Morant as the Grizzlies rookie threw a pass high to himself to set up for his dunk attempt.
He went around his back in the air but missed the dunk. It didn’t matter as the crowd exhaled.
Morant, Brandon Clarke and Jaren Jackson Jr. each took turns showing how the Grizzlies became one of the league’s best stories. Morant and Jackson helped Team USA win 151-131 over Team World and Clarke.
All three started the game for their respective teams and Jackson and Clarke met for the opening tip-off. Then came the fun as Morant and Jackson Jr. connected for an alley-oop dunk for the game’s first basket.
Clarke later got the better of Jackson with a putback dunk over him during the second half, although Jackson tried to dismiss it.
“That’s not a dunk on me, by the way. It was close,” Jackson said to Clarke as both did interviews next to each other.
“I have to see it again,” Clarke said. “I dunked it and I saw him right there, but I don’t know though.”
Clarke led the Grizzlies group with 22 points and eight rebounds. But he wisely avoided being on the wrong end of a Morant highlight in the first half.
As Morant drove down the lane, Clarke stepped aside as his Grizzlies teammate had a free path for a dunk. It was a decision that he planned weeks in advance.
“If I saw Ja or Jaren coming down the paint, I’m moving away,” Clarke said. “This game isn’t serious. The team that wins doesn’t matter. I’m not going to go vertical and get dunked on. In an actual game? I would definitely jump with them.
Jackson had 12 points and seven rebounds. Morant had 10 points and six assists but several of his passes were nearly highlights involving Williamson, his former AAU teammate.
The two South Carolina natives teamed up for three alley-oops in the first half, including one where Morant threw a half-court pass to Williamson, who dunked it. Their final connection was the flashiest as Morant went between his legs in the air before finding Williamson for a left-handed dunk.
“When Ja threw me that lob from half-court, I reminisced on that, back to ninth grade,” Williamson said. “I was thinking about our Hornets days and I keep thinking never in a million years would I have thought we’d have been in this game or been in the situation we’re in.”
It was also Morant’s favorite moment of the night. He broke the play down, calling it a tough pass with a difficult angle. The two shared the court for the first time on Jan. 31, but Friday night also reminded Morant of their one year together as teammates.
“It wasn’t the same (as AAU) but it definitely was nice. I know a lot of people were waiting on that,” Morant said.
Morant had an individual highlight later with a 360-degree dunk in the fourth quarter.
After Morant’s final miss, Clarke had a chance for his own exclamation point but he missed a dunk as the buzzer sounded.
It didn’t matter that Team USA won or that no Grizzlies won the Most Valuable Player award that went to Charlotte
Hornets rookie Miles Bridges. It was a chance for Morant, Clarke and Jackson to show off and relax, even if Morant and Clarke missed dunks to end the game.
“The game was icing on the cake to the achievement of just getting here. It just shows all the hard work,” Jackson said. “The game is just fun, it’s competitive, it’s something for the fans at the end of the day but it was a lot of fun.
You can reach Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_b) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com