Fans at FedEx Forum got their money’s worth Tuesday night with Ja Morant putting on a show in the Grizzlies’ Game 2 victory over Golden State, tying a playoff career-high with 47 points including 18 in the fourth quarter.
Following a physical Game 1 (Draymond Green was ejected for a flagrant foul on Brandon Clarke), tensions flared again when Dillon Brooks clotheslined Gary Payton II, fracturing his elbow on a play Warriors coach Steve Kerr would later describe as “dirty.” Feeling the emotion of a rollercoaster series between two Western Conference heavyweights, Morant engaged in some friendly banter with Steph Curry after the game, trash-talking his Warriors counterpart on his way back to the Grizzlies’ locker room.
Asked about the encounter in his post-game press conference, Morant said he was merely repeating Steph’s words back to him. “After Game 1, he came to me and Jaren [Jackson] and said, ‘It’s going to be a battle. We’re going to have some fun,’” said Morant, who missed a potential game-winning layup in the final seconds of Sunday’s opener. “I was able to return that message tonight.”
After being called out by his father for playing like “trash” against the Timberwolves in Round 1, Morant has been a man possessed this series, averaging 40.5 points, 9.0 assists, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals through two games. The NBA’s Most Improved Player can expect plenty of hostility from Warriors fans when the Western Conference semis shift to San Francisco for Game 3 Saturday at Chase Center.
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