San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
VIDEO SHOWS MORANT WITH APPARENT GUN
Ja Morant will be away from the Memphis Grizzlies for at least their next two games, the team announced Saturday, not long after the NBA opened an investigation into a social media post by the guard after he livestreamed himself holding what appeared to be a gun at a nightclub.
Morant said in a statement distributed through the agency that represents him that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions — adding that he was going to “take some time away to get help.”
The video was streamed by Morant on his Instagram page early Saturday, hours after the Grizzlies played in Denver. They were flying to Los Angeles on Saturday for games against the Clippers on Sunday and the Lakers on Tuesday.
Morant will miss those two games, at minimum, the Grizzlies said, without any further comment.
“We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and are investigating,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said earlier Saturday.
The league will try to speak with Morant as part of that investigation, though it is unclear when any meeting may occur. Morant apologized in the statement released by Tandem Sports + Entertainment.
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night,” Morant said. “I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”
It was not immediately clear what Morant meant by “help” or if he planned to be away from the team for longer than the two-game minimum announced by the Grizzlies.
The league, if it finds wrongdoing, could fine or suspend Morant. Based on the Grizzlies’ statement, the earliest Morant could play again is Thursday at home against Golden State. His Instagram and Twitter accounts were disabled shortly after the Grizzlies announced his absence.
Memphis is currently No. 2 in the Western Conference standings, led by Morant, a two-time All-star averaging 27.1 points and 8.2 assists per game.
This is at least the second time in the last few weeks that Morant has been the subject of a league investigation. Morant’s actions were investigated by the league after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to a friend of his being banned from home games there for a year.
That incident was following a game against the Indiana Pacers; citing unnamed sources, The Indianapolis Star and USA Today reported that multiple members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them, and The Athletic reported that a Pacers security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.
The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.
Saturday’s results
76ers 133, Bucks 130: Joel Embiid made a go-ahead 3pointer with 41.4 seconds left and visiting Philadelphia rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat Milwaukee, snapping the Bucks’ 16-game winning streak.
Milwaukee had the longest winning streak by any NBA team since the Phoenix Suns had 18 straight victories early last season.
The 76ers trailed 125-121 before James Harden, who scored a game-high 38 points, hit a 3-pointer with 1:21 left. After Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a shot from around the basket, Embiid sank a 3-pointer that gave Philadelphia its first lead of the second half.
After Jrue Holiday missed a 3-point attempt with 25 seconds remaining, the 76ers went 6 of 6 from the line the rest of the way to seal the victory.
Harden added 10 assists and nine rebounds. Embiid had 31 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and Georges Niang had 16.
Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 13 rebounds for Milwaukee.
Cavaliers 114, Pistons 90: Darius Garland had 21 points and seven assists, Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points and host Cleveland routed Detroit.
Rockets 122, Spurs 110: Tari Eason matched his season high with 20 points and Houston ended an 11-game losing streak, winning at San Antonio.
Heat 117, Hawks 109: Bam Adebayo scored 30 points and Miami held Trae Young to a season-low eight points in a victory over visiting Atlanta.
Raptors 116, Wizards 109 (OT): Fred Vanvleet made two 3-pointers in overtime and had 25 points to help Toronto beat host Washington for a two-game split.
Timberwolves 138, Kings 134: Anthony Edwards scored 27 points and Minnesota won at Sacramento to snap the Kings’ winning streak at five games.
Friday’s late results
Kings 128, Clippers 127:
Domantas Sabonis made two free throws with seven seconds left to cap a 23-point, 10rebound night in host Sacramento’s victory
Warriors 108, Pelicans 99:
Klay Thompson scored 27 points and hit the go-ahead 3pointer, helping Golden State wrap up a perfect homestand with a victory over New Orleans.
Nuggets 113, Grizzlies 97:
Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his 25th triple-double this season to lead host Denver over Memphis in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Timberwolves 110, Lakers 102: Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Anthony Edwards scored 19 points and Minnesota completed a two-game Los Angeles sweep with a victory over the short-handed Lakers.