Giannotto
lon Brooks' 24 points, Jonas Valanciunas' 22 points and 20 rebounds, John Konchar's unfathomable block of Dwight Howard and the first ever Jaggle night at Fedexforum.
Why the tweet motivated Morant
Greer's tweet led to a show put on by Morant that added to his legend because it was a performance that felt as meaningful as it was memorable.
The Grizzlies so badly needed this win, with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke and Justise Winslow all still out with injuries.
The losses were piling up after the All-star break and teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs were creeping up on that No. 8 Western Conference playoff spot Memphis still possesses.
So Morant took command like only a star can, about 24 hours after he made this declaration following the Grizzlies' loss to the Sacramento Kings: “I feel like a lot of people are panicking. Not us, though.”
It was around that time Greer sent a tweet in response to Local 24 sports reporter Jessica Benson with the Grizzlies' losing streak at five games following Friday's setback.
“I liked it when Ja had that fire in his eye,” Greer wrote. “He doesn't look like he wants it more than others. #Nochip.”
This bothered Morant, who admits to checking social media when he's bored. When he saw his Twitter handle tagged in a post with #nochip, “I had to go look at it,” he said.
“It's nothing against him,” Morant said of Greer in the postgame locker room Saturday.
“He just got me back in my groove. Exactly what I needed.”
It was exactly what the Grizzlies needed to pound the Lakers. Yes, the short-handed Grizzlies pounded the Western Conference's best team and served notice their grip on this final playoff spot won't be relinquished so easily.
Because they've got Morant and, on Saturday, he had 27 points, tied his career-high with 14 assists, grabbed six rebounds and hit four 3-pointers.
He had one dunk in the first half that he punctuated by flexing toward the camera with a primal scream.
He had another sequence in the third quarter that began when he dribbled the ball like it was on a string to set up a floater, came down court and yelled at his father seated courtside: “I'm in my bag!”
“When I get to talking,” Morant explained postgame, “I'm a different animal.”
The next time down the floor, he whipped out a pass to set up a Valanciunas dunk and curled his fingers around his eyes to simulate the Ja-ggles that were handed out to the first 3,000 fans Saturday night.
A couple minutes after that, he tried to jump over 6-foot-10 Anthony Davis for a dunk. He couldn't do it, but it was about the only thing he couldn't pull off.
He wowed Cam Newton, who was seated right next to the Grizzlies' bench, and he left Lebron James in awe. Morant and James even swapped jerseys after the game.
Morant got his No. 23 yellow Lakers' uniform autographed by both James and Davis. James wrote: “Settle for nothing but greatness.”
“The kid is super special,” James told reporters after the game. “Memphis got a great one.”
Why Lebron James called Morant 'super special'
It's easy to lose sight sometimes, in the midst of Morant's tendency to produce nightly highlights, how nuanced his greatness has already become.
He is already the alpha dog for these Grizzlies, even though he's just 20 years old.
He already has a knack for raising his game at just the right moment, and Saturday was certainly one of those moments with his team reeling.
He already has the confidence to challenge the NBA'S best, and he already has the wherewithal to adjust on the fly to being treated like one of the NBA'S best by opponents.
“I don't think it matters how old you are if you have a basketball IQ,” James said.
“I think he's played like that probably his whole life because the game is mental and then the physical abilities came after that. … You're either born with it or you're not.”
Morant, because of his upbringing in rural South Carolina, because he was overlooked during the recruiting process and landed at Murray State, has also developed an insatiable desire to show his doubters they're wrong.
Even if it's a random father of two with less than 200 Twitter followers who sent a response to a tweet involving Morant.
Initially, on Friday night, Morant responded to Greer with several "crying while laughing" emojis. When Greer woke up Saturday morning and saw them, he told his wife.
“Were you rude?” she immediately asked.
Greer laughed as he recounted all this after Saturday's game.
“I'm glad Ja took it the right way,” he said.
By this point, Morant had retweeted the video of his postgame interview with Fischer, tagged Greer and wrote, “appreciate you.”
Greer's phone hadn't stopped buzzing due to dozens of text messages and hundreds of social media notifications.
This 35-year-old salesman for Drury Hotels had learned just how much one tweet can resonate.
So Greer decided to send another response to Morant.
“Much love my guy,” he wrote. “You got the fire and I believe in you!”
You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter: @mgiannotto