Morant surprised by fan from China
Ja Morant was speechless.
He had a smile on his face, even after a 113-109 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Memphis Grizzlies had fans from across the world in attendance on Tuesday. Two from France had a poster saying that they traveled to see Morant. Another, sitting behind the Grizzlies’ bench from China, held a small sheet of white paper that read, “came from China to see Ja!!!”
“It’s crazy, honestly,” Morant said. “I wish I got to see those fans for taking the time for traveling that far for me. That’s crazy.”
Morant gave the fans a show. He finished with 34 points on 12-for-21 shooting. After checking in with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter, Morant scored 20 of those points to help the Grizzlies slice a 14-point deficit to three points.
As important as each of those points were, missed opportunities ended the comeback hopes. Down three with 1.7 seconds left, Morant had a chance to tie the game after being fouled on a 3pointer.
Morant missed the first free throw, then after making the second, he missed the third intentionally. He finished 9-for-15 on free throws.
Battle of Grizzlies, Kings point guards
Morant and De’aaron Fox have been compared in their careers largely because of their speed and explosiveness. The two battled again on Tuesday and led their teams in scoring. Fox finished with 32 points, including five 3-pointers.
Dillon Brooks drew the initial defensive assignment on Fox, but the Kings point guard defended Morant. A good back and forth battle followed.
A lot of attention has been placed on Morant and Luka Doncic as being the future lead guards of the Western Conference, but Fox is staking his claim to be in that conversation.
Morant said he is a big fan of Fox and has watched the similarities in their games.
“It’s been good actually watching him this season, how he’s taking his
game to that next level and actually being that guy for this Kings team and willing them to wins,” Morant said.
Future playoff series?
If you take a quick glance, this year’s Kings and last season’s Grizzlies look a lot alike. Fox is putting pressure on defenses like Morant, Kevin Huerter has been one of the NBA’S top 3-point shooters like Desmond Bane, and a skilled big man is capable of taking over a game on any night.
Kings coach Mike Brown noted the similarities, but added that his team is much less experienced than the Grizzlies. That came into play late in the game when Memphis caused the Kings into several turnovers and almost completed the comeback.
The Grizzlies are no strangers to rallies. Memphis erased deficit after deficit against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs last season. Sacramento is one of the NBA’S hottest teams, while the Grizzlies are attempting to hold on until the eventual return of key players.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said there wasn’t anything new to report on Desmond Bane’s injury, but Ziaire Williams is getting close to doing one on one.
It’s still only November, but a healthy Kings-grizzlies matchup looks like it would be entertaining.
“They’re playing well,” Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. said. “We want to be the higher seed; meet up with whoever we got to meet up with, but they’re playing well.”