Rams

​In a surprising development, the Memphis Grizzlies have parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Despite the team's solid 44-29 record and a fifth-place standing in the Western Conference, Jenkins would be fired with days remaining before the playoffs start. Assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo has been named interim head coach for the remainder of the season for the Grizzlies.
Jenkins, 40, departs as the winningest coach in franchise history, amassing a 250-214 record since his appointment in June 2019. During his tenure, he led the Grizzlies to three playoff appearances and was instrumental in the development of key players.
General Manager Zach Kleiman stated that the decision was made in the best interest of the team's future, emphasizing that it was his sole decision and not influenced by players.&nbsp; The move comes as the Grizzlies have faced a recent downturn, losing five of their last seven games.
Tuomas Iisalo, who steps in as interim head coach, brings a wealth of experience from European basketball. Prior to joining the Grizzlies as an assistant, Iisalo served as the head coach for Paris Basketball, leading them to a EuroCup victory, and was named Coach of the Year in Finland in 2024.&nbsp; His promotion marks him as the first Finnish-born head coach in NBA history.&nbsp;
The Grizzlies face a challenging schedule ahead, with eight of their final nine games against teams contending for playoff or play-in spots.&nbsp; The organization and fans alike will be watching closely to see how the team responds under Iisalo's leadership as they approach the postseason.​

​In a surprising development, the Memphis Grizzlies have parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins.

Grizzlies part ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins before playoffs

This article was originally published on BasketballNews on May 9, 2021.
The player-empowerment era in the NBA has allowed athletes to do so much more than just change teams when they feel it&rsquo;s time to move on from a situation. It has also led to athletes having more opportunities and control off the court as well.&nbsp;
One of the best examples (in both areas) is Kevin Durant.&nbsp;&nbsp;
While LeBron James may be credited with starting the player-empowerment era with his move to Miami back in the summer of 2010, Durant put an exclamation point on it when he left Oklahoma City for the Bay Area and joined the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016. Durant has also followed suit on the business side of things. While James&rsquo; business ventures may be more well-known to date, Durant isn&rsquo;t far behind in that regard.&nbsp;
Durant&rsquo;s most notable endorsement deal is with Nike, with whom he reportedly signed a 10-year contract <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2014/08/31/kevin-durant-nike-under-armour-shoe-deal/14898743/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worth up to $300 million back in 2014</a>. He also has endorsement deals with Google and Alaska Airlines, but things certainly don&rsquo;t stop there for Durant. In fact, you could argue that his endorsements aren&rsquo;t moving the needle much in comparison to his other business endeavors.&nbsp;
Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, own a venture capital firm named Thirty Five Ventures, and that&rsquo;s where Durant has done incredibly well from the business standpoint.&nbsp;
Thirty Five Ventures has its hands in many different businesses, some of which you may use on a regular basis. Durant and Kleiman have invested in Lime Scooters, The Players&rsquo; Tribune, Robinhood, Postmates, and most recently, Coinbase. According to its website, Thirty Five Ventures has an investment portfolio spanning over 60 different companies.&nbsp;
Coinbase recently made waves as the company went public, and made Durant and Kleiman&rsquo;s investment worth over 53-times what they originally put into the company back in 2017. Another one of their victories on the same front came via a $1 million investment in Postmates prior to its sale to Uber back in 2020.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I know I&rsquo;m just a basketball player, so I was smart enough to hire people who are really good in that field,&rdquo; Durant <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/03/04/kevin-durants-successful-business-ventures-are-inspiring-nba-peers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told our Alex Kennedy (via HoopsHype) in 2018</a>. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t take all of the credit for that. I have such a great team of people around me who have pushed me to explore that field and learn more about it because, like I said, I&rsquo;m just a basketball player. That&rsquo;s what I do and I usually don&rsquo;t want to do anything else. I&rsquo;m happy when I&rsquo;m playing basketball. But I have to give a ton of credit to the people who forced me to think outside of the box a bit because it&rsquo;s changed my life and made my life more interesting. It&rsquo;s not for every basketball player and it doesn&rsquo;t always turn out this way, but for me, it was a natural progression and things really worked out.&rdquo;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
KD14 on film. ⏭🎥 More pairs dropping tomorrow, 5/8. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TakeYourGameFurther?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TakeYourGameFurther</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KD14?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KD14</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BTS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BTS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nikebasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nikebasketball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KDTrey5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KDTrey5</a> <a href="https://t.co/TejR3ArZ58">pic.twitter.com/TejR3ArZ58</a>
&mdash; Thirty Five Ventures (@35Ventures) <a href="https://twitter.com/35Ventures/status/1390675654484627460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2021</a></blockquote>

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But Thirty Five Ventures isn&rsquo;t just about investing in things like the aforementioned Coinbase and Postmates; it&rsquo;s also a company that creates and produces content -- and award-winning content, at that. Durant isn&rsquo;t the first star athlete to enter this space, but it&rsquo;s something he and Kleiman have done incredibly well and it&rsquo;s paid off.&nbsp;
&ldquo;All of the amazing athletes who succeeded in business &ndash; from&nbsp;Magic Johnson&nbsp;to&nbsp;Michael Jordan&nbsp;to LeBron James &ndash; brought something different to the table and they continued to evolve and learn from those before them,&rdquo; Kleiman told <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2018/03/04/kevin-durants-successful-business-ventures-are-inspiring-nba-peers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HoopsHype back in 2018</a>. &ldquo;LeBron laid out such a great blueprint: He looked at brand deals differently, he valued quality over quantity and he realized that athletes of this caliber are global brands so they should have equity in these businesses. Kevin learned so much from LeBron. Now, Kevin is building his own business in his way, and he will evolve, bring something new to the table and inspire the people after him.&rdquo;
Durant and Kleiman have been able to learn from James in some aspects, as <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-lebron-james-the-businessman-fenway-sports-group-springhill-entertainment-uninterrupted-blaze-pizza-ladder-athletes-companies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James has a production company of his own</a> and regularly helps out with content, not to mention starring in the upcoming &ldquo;Space Jam 2.&rdquo; As for Durant and Kleiman, the pair recently won an Academy Award for their work on the short film &ldquo;Two Distant Strangers&rdquo; in the &lsquo;Best Live Action Short&rsquo; category. Thirty Five Ventures also sold a show to Apple TV plus called "Swagger,&rdquo; which is a drama series that&rsquo;s based on Durant's youth basketball experience.
Beyond that, Durant and Kleiman have created &ldquo;Boardroom,&rdquo; which is somewhat similar to LeBron&rsquo;s &ldquo;The Shop&rdquo; on HBO, but it focuses more on the business side of things. The show has featured the likes of Malcolm Jenkins, David Shaw, Justin Tuck, Brandon Marshall, Nick DePaula and many others. They talk about everything from how coaches game plan, to how sneaker deals work, to how athletes are able to build their own brands and more. This might be where Durant&rsquo;s future in business looks the brightest, at least in terms of creativity. Recently, Durant and Kleiman have also expanded the Boardroom brand by creating new shows, launching their website and collaborating with Sports Business Journal on a print product.
Another thing Durant and Kleiman have been involved with is Overtime, a media outlet with a huge social media presence. The two have been backing the company for several years, and reportedly invested over $10 million. They&rsquo;ve also created content for Overtime and have been helping behind the scenes as well. Now, the company is launching <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/high-school-basketball-former-nba-execs-aaron-ryan-brandon-williams-kevin-ollie-overtime-elite-seek-to-revolutionize-amateur-to-pro-preparation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Overtime Elite, which will serve as an alternative to high school for elite basketball prospects with NBA futures</a>.&nbsp;
When it comes to Durant&rsquo;s business endeavors, he&rsquo;s taken a behind-the-scenes approach to certain companies and a hands-on approach with others. While his basketball career continues to be one of the best out there, his post-NBA career is shaping up to be just as fascinating.&nbsp;

Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman have invested in Lime Scooters, The Players’ Tribune, Robinhood, Postmates, Coinbase and 55+ others.

Easy Money: How Kevin Durant is dominating the business world

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins has been fined $25,000 for&nbsp;public criticism of the officiating, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.
Jenkins made his comments to the media following the Grizzlies&rsquo; 127-121 loss to the Utah Jazz on Nov. 10 at FedExForum.&nbsp;
Here's video of Taylor's full comments:
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&ldquo;Saddle up. One of the most poorly officiated games I&rsquo;ve ever seen. Record it, I&rsquo;m fine with it. F*cking atrocious.&rdquo; Taylor Jenkins WENT OFF on the officials after the Grizzlies&rsquo; loss to the Jazz last night 😳<a href="https://t.co/nXGPB2YMVc">pic.twitter.com/nXGPB2YMVc</a>
&mdash; ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1723345954294702323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2023</a></blockquote>

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Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of the officiating.

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins fined $25,000 for criticizing refs

Ja Morant was suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday after he appeared to be holding a gun in another social media video that was streamed live on Instagram.
It&rsquo;s the second time in less than three months that Morant was seen on Instagram holding what appeared to be a weapon. The first led to an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">eight-game NBA suspension</a>&nbsp;that was handed down in March and cost Morant about $669,000 in salary.
It&rsquo;s unclear what sanctions Morant may be facing for the second video, which was widely shared online Sunday. An associate of Morant went live on Instagram while the All-Star was in the front seat of a vehicle with another person, briefly appearing to display a handgun. It is unclear where or when the latest video was filmed.
&ldquo;We are aware of the social media post involving Ja Morant and are in the process of gathering more information,&rdquo; NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
The Grizzlies said Morant is suspended from all team activities, &ldquo;pending league review.&rdquo;
The gun video earlier this season happened when Morant went live on his own Instagram holding a gun at a club in the Denver suburbs in early March. After that went viral, Morant announced that he was taking time away to seek help, without specifying what sort of treatment he was getting. ESPN later reported that he was getting counseling in Florida, something the team eventually confirmed but did not share any other details.
&ldquo;Ja&rsquo;s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,&rdquo; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement in March after meeting with Morant and deciding on the suspension&rsquo;s length. &ldquo;It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him.&rdquo;
Morant sat down for an interview with ESPN during his suspension, taking responsibility for the Colorado video.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t condone any type of violence,&rdquo; Morant told ESPN in March. &ldquo;But I take full responsibility for my actions. I made a bad mistake and I can see the image that I painted over myself with my recent mistakes. But in the future, I&rsquo;m going to show everybody who Ja really is, what I&rsquo;m about and change this narrative.&rdquo;
And when the season ended a couple weeks ago, Morant said again that he needed to work on his decision-making.
&ldquo;Being disciplined on both sides, off the court making better decisions and on the court being locked in even more,&rdquo; Morant said after a season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. &ldquo;Being a leader of this team, it pretty much starts with me. ... I&rsquo;ve got to be better in that area.&rdquo;
Morant&rsquo;s five-year, $194 million max contract is set to begin this coming season. It could have escalated to a supermax if he made All-NBA this season; he was not voted onto that team, which cost him about $39 million in future earnings.
His talent on the court is not a question. He averaged 27.4 points last season, 26.2 points this season and helped Memphis secure the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
But the Grizzlies&rsquo; season ended amid dysfunction. They were ousted in Round 1 by the Lakers, getting eliminated in a 40-point loss to close a series where trash-talking and antics became as much of a storyline as actual playing of basketball.
And the offseason is now off to a less-than-ideal start as well, especially after Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said following the playoffs that the team has to eliminate &ldquo;unnecessary drama, self-inflicted decisions that take away from the team.&rdquo;
&ldquo;It has to be completely different going into next year,&rdquo; Jenkins said.
This will be at least the third known NBA investigation surrounding Morant and the possible involvement of firearms so far in 2023.
Morant&rsquo;s actions were investigated after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led to a friend of his being banned from home games for a year.
That incident followed 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.
Then came the Denver-area incident in the early hours of March 4, after the Grizzlies played a road game against the Nuggets. At 5:19 a.m., Morant started a livestream from inside a strip club called Shotgun Willies in Glendale, Colorado.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-police-colorado-memphis-grizzlies-gun-video-f6dc3708e6e48f7ecdbb09c6ff730462">No charges were filed</a>&nbsp;and police said there were no complaint calls stemming from Morant holding the gun were made.
Morant and a close friend also are involved in a civil lawsuit brought after an incident at Morant&rsquo;s home last summer, in which a then-17-year-old alleged that they assaulted him. Morant filed a countersuit on April 12, accusing the teen of slander, battery and assault.

Ja Morant was suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday after he appeared to be holding a gun in another social media video.

Grizzlies suspend Ja Morant after another gun video appears online

The Memphis Grizzlies must prove the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest team can learn the league&rsquo;s toughest lesson that the playoffs&nbsp;are nothing like the regular season.
It&rsquo;s also time these young Grizzlies grow up.
The Grizzlies&rsquo; third straight postseason &mdash; their second consecutive as the Western Conference&rsquo;s No. 2 seed &mdash; ended Friday night in six games in the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">worst playoff loss in franchise history</a>&nbsp;in 13 appearances. Anthony Davis, LeBron James and the Lakers humbled them after having to win the No. 7 seed in the play-in tournament.
&ldquo;This is probably that moment in time that&rsquo;s going to be the ultimate wake-up call,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.
&ldquo;Are we going to really understand it&rsquo;s the preparation in the offseason and the preparation in the season? It&rsquo;s what you do at work, off the court. Clearly, things that we&rsquo;ve got to control and just embrace it together.&rdquo;
Two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, who signed a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-9133154cdb4253d6dfebf0e68279b4c7">five-year supermax contract</a>&nbsp;last summer, will have the biggest chance to prove&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">how much he can mature</a>. Morant was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;and had almost as many&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-memphis-grizzlies-ja-morant-lawsuit-2392fe03e2399ba5f048d2186d1e703b">off-court distractions</a>&nbsp;as endorsement deals.
Morant, who set the franchise single-season record by averaging 26.2 points a game, said he understands where he can grow as a leader.
&ldquo;I just got to be better with my decision-making,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty much it. My off-the-court issues affected us as an organization pretty much. Just more disciplined.&rdquo;
HOME EDGE
The Grizzlies set a franchise mark by going 35-6 at home this season, the NBA&rsquo;s best home record since Golden State won 36 games in the 2016-17 season. Memphis needs to play better on the road after going 16-25, better than only Golden State among the teams reaching the first round.
Memphis lost all three playoff games in Los Angeles, with only Game 4 reaching overtime.
INJURY HEX
This was the fifth time Memphis&rsquo; playoff hopes were hampered by injuries or suspensions.
Morant missed Game 2 against the Lakers after aggravating his bruised right hand, while&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-dillon-brooks-174e0914b8a2376176ee940a8869e563">Dillon Brooks was ejected in Game 3</a>&nbsp;for striking James in the groin. Luke Kennard, the NBA&rsquo;s top 3-point shooter, missed Game 6 with an injured shoulder.
The Grizzlies also didn&rsquo;t have starting center Steven Adams, their oldest player, or key reserve Brandon Clarke because of season-ending injuries.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-steven-adams-phoenix-37d09a9662037d519eccf9282f17ac59">Adams hurt his right knee in late January</a>, and&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Clarke tore his left Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in early March.
The Lakers dominated the Grizzlies on the boards.
&ldquo;It would be dumb to say that it didn&rsquo;t play a part in it,&rdquo; third-year guard Desmond Bane said. &rdquo;(Adams) was a part of what we did all season long. Obviously (Clarke) was, too.&rdquo;
Last season, Morant&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-memphis-grizzlies-nba-sports-jordan-poole-5d6963a01c0f84c7421c9f4ff7711011">missed the final three games</a>&nbsp;of Memphis&rsquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">semifinals loss to eventual champion</a>&nbsp;Golden State.
BRIGHT FUTURE
In addition to Morant, the Grizzlies also have Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA&rsquo;s second-youngest player to be named&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">defensive player of the year</a>. Jackson, who also is 23, led the league and set a franchise record by averaging 3 blocks per game.
Jackson blossomed, particularly after Adams&rsquo; injury, and was picked for his first All-Star Game. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, both career highs. Healthy going into the offseason, the five-year veteran who won&rsquo;t turn 24 until September has more room to improve.
WHAT TO DO WITH BROOKS
The easiest decision for Memphis may be letting the 6-foot-6 Brooks leave as a free agent after five seasons. Yes, he&rsquo;s a great defender who played his best against All-Stars during the regular season, but he also led the NBA in technical fouls.
Then came the playoffs. Brooks said he wanted to face the Lakers&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">before calling James &ldquo;old&rdquo; and saying he didn&rsquo;t respect anyone</a>&nbsp;until they put up 40 on him. Well, the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-lebron-morant-nba-playoffs-2023-0e29c52f85372c3f4580832c328ebe10">Lakers polished off the Grizzlies with a 40-point win</a>&nbsp;in James&rsquo; 40th postseason series victory of his career.
Brooks didn&rsquo;t help himself when he bolted the Memphis locker room after the series loss before reporters were allowed inside. The guard being paid $11.4 million this season on a rookie extension also didn&rsquo;t talk after three of the losses in the series.
FUTURE MOVES
The Grizzlies hold club options on Xavier Tillman and Kennard for next season. They also have the 25th overall pick in the June draft.

The Memphis Grizzlies are the NBA’s second-youngest team and after this year's playoff exit, it's time for them to grow up.

Young Grizzlies must grow up after early exit from playoffs

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99 to force their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">first-round Western Conference series</a>&nbsp;back to Los Angeles.
Jaren Jackson Jr., the&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/jackson-grizzlies-dpoy-nba-defensive-player-award-25780ba4e0e48bdc7bd9ba2707cbaf97">NBA Defensive Player of the Year</a>, had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who improved to 5-0 in Game 5s played in Memphis and cut the seventh-seeded Lakers&rsquo; series lead to 3-2. Memphis earned a second straight No. 2 seed by posting the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6.
Game 6 is Friday night in Los Angeles.
LeBron James started 1 of 7 from the field but finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, a modest follow-up after the 38-year-old played 45 minutes in&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-lakers-lebron-morant-9e8a719125079093104db8145d90ac43">Monday night&rsquo;s overtime win in Los Angeles</a>&nbsp;and became the oldest player in NBA history to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in his 270th playoff game.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 31 points and 19 rebounds. Austin Reaves had 17 points and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell scored 11. Davis stayed on the court for a few seconds after a layup with 6:01 left that pulled the Lakers within 106-91. When he got up, Davis grabbed at his back as he walked down the court.
The Lakers tried to rally, going on a 20-7 run in the fourth. They couldn&rsquo;t get closer than 12, the last on a putback by Davis with 2:52 left. Memphis answered with eight straight to get fans chanting &ldquo;Whoop That Trick&rdquo; with about 90 seconds left.
Memphis led only 23-20 when coach Taylor Jenkins took out Dillon Brooks,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-playoffs-dillon-brooks-lebron-lakers-grizzlies-2023-c8a4ec836df1b0c8a6c5172cf5fe4981">known more for calling James old and missing shots than his defense in this series</a>. The Grizzlies seized control, finishing on a 15-4 run capped by Bane&rsquo;s 3 just before the quarter expired for a 38-24 lead.
The Grizzlies led by as much as 17 in the second with Morant scoring 10, including&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/GrizzOnBally/status/1651381764131045376" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">drawing a foul on James for a three-point play</a>. Memphis led 61-52 at halftime.
Russell scored the first eight of the third for the Lakers to quickly turn it into a tight game. James, who had nine in the third, hit a pair of free throws that pulled Los Angeles within 75-74 with 4:36 left.
Memphis took control with a 26-2 run that lasted until the start of the fourth. Morant had 11 in the third and finished the quarter with back-to-back buckets. His final drive put the Grizzlies up 94-76 going into the fourth.
Bane capped the spurt with a three-point play for a 101-74 lead.
TIP-INS
Lakers: They lost for just the fourth time in their past 17 games. ... They came in having outscored Memphis&rsquo; bench 119-79 thanks to 72 points from Rui Hachimura. But the forward picked up two quick fouls early and played only five minutes of the first half. He finished with nine points, and the benches matched each other with 18 apiece.
Grizzlies: They will have to prove they can win in Los Angeles to force the third Game 7 in franchise history and first since 2014. They lost their lone game in the regular season at Los Angeles before dropping both Games 3 and 4, though the Grizzlies lost by six in overtime Monday night. ... Jackson had two blocks.

Ja Morant had 31 points and 10 boards, and the Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, beating the Lakers 116-99.

Ja Morant, Grizzlies stave off elimination, beat Lakers 116-99

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) &mdash; LeBron James has seemed wise beyond his years since the start of his basketball journey, and he wasn&rsquo;t about to drop down to Dillon Brooks&rsquo; level of discourse heading into a pivotal game for the Los Angeles Lakers.
James declined to respond to the Memphis Grizzlies&rsquo; top agitator Friday after Brooks said the top scorer in NBA history was &ldquo;old&rdquo; following Game 2 of the teams&rsquo; first-round playoff series, which resumes Saturday night in Los Angeles.
The 38-year-old James patiently parried several questions about Brooks&rsquo; comments and about the importance of trash talk in general before abruptly cutting short his media session at the Lakers&rsquo; training complex. James never said Brooks&rsquo; name, but he clearly knew who&rsquo;s behind the narrative trying to push its way into a competitive series after two eventful games in Memphis.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready to play,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s it.&rdquo;
The seventh-seeded Lakers&rsquo; visit from the Grizzlies is the second game of a Saturday doubleheader at the downtown Los Angeles arena long known as Staples Center. The short-handed Clippers tip off against the Suns in Game 4 about 6 1/2 hours earlier, with Phoenix looking to claim a daunting 3-1 series lead with a second straight road win.
Also Saturday in Eastern Conference play, the Philadelphia 76ers will look to sweep the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 before the Heat host the top-seeded Bucks in Game 3 with their series even at 1-1 after Miami swiped the opener in Milwaukee.
James has won four NBA titles and four league MVP awards on top of practically every other achievement possible in the modern game during his 20 seasons. The 27-year-old Brooks, who is older than the median and average ages of current NBA players, has won one playoff series in his six-year career.
So a resume competition would be a blowout victory for James, but he wasn&rsquo;t about to play any such games with Brooks, who described his overall philosophy after Game 2 as: &ldquo;I poke bears.&rdquo;
&ldquo;At the end of the day, there&rsquo;s 10 guys on the floor,&rdquo; James said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re one of the best defensive teams in the league, and we have to respect that. No matter who is out in a Grizzlies uniform during that particular time, during that quarter, during that minute, we&rsquo;ve got to respect everybody and we&rsquo;ve got to execute offensively.&rdquo;
James will go back to work against Brooks and the Grizzlies on a landmark night in Lakers history: For the first time in 10 years, and for the first time with James and Anthony Davis on the roster, this 17-time NBA champion franchise will hold a playoff game in front of a capacity home crowd.
The Lakers missed the playoffs in six consecutive seasons after losing in the first round to San Antonio in 2013, and their 2020 championship run occurred in the Florida bubble. They hosted three playoff games in a first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns in 2021, but attendance was capped at less than half-capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m looking forward to it,&rdquo; James said.
Ja Morant&rsquo;s availability for Game 3 is still unclear after he missed Game 2 with a sore right hand, but the Grizzlies star appears to be improving quickly. He went through a noncontact practice and individual drills Friday in Los Angeles, but coach Taylor Jenkins said they&rsquo;ll wait until game time to decide whether he&rsquo;ll play.
76ERS AT NETS
76ers lead 3-0. Game 4, 1 p.m. EDT, TNT
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: Philadelphia star Joel Embiid will sit out because of a sprained right knee. The 76ers added the All-Star center to the injury report Friday night, a night after he was limping multiple times during their Game 3 victory. Philadelphia can earn some valuable rest before the second round by finishing off the Nets.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: The Sixers have dominated even with relatively pedestrian contributions from two-time scoring champion and MVP candidate Embiid, who had only 14 points in Game 3.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Brooklyn, obviously. A tumultuous Nets season will end in ignominious fashion if they can&rsquo;t take at least one game off the powerhouse Sixers.
SUNS AT CLIPPERS
Suns lead 2-1. Game 4, 3:30 p.m. EDT, TNT
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Clippers announced late Friday that Kawhi Leonard will miss his second straight game with a right knee sprain. Los Angeles coach Tyronn Lue made two game plans depending on whether the quiet superstar could play, but the Clips will have to attempt to win again without their two best players.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: Devin Booker. He is averaging 36.3 points per game in the series, and the Suns star invariably plays with an extra spring in his step in the building once called home by his hero, Kobe Bryant.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: &ldquo;If (Leonard) is not back, we have to rally around each other, support each other, find ways to make something happen.&rdquo; Russell Westbrook, who had 30 points in the Clippers&rsquo; loss in Game 3. ... Phoenix&rsquo;s Cam Payne is questionable with low back soreness.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: The Clippers&rsquo; supporting cast, which will attempt to conjure an upset with Leonard back on the shelf. Leonard missed all of last season and played in just 52 games this season to stay in top shape for the playoffs. Clippers fans are growing increasingly discontented as they wait for Leonard and Paul George to deliver four years into their partnership.
BUCKS AT HEAT
Series tied 1-1. Game 3, 7:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN
&mdash; NEED TO KNOW: The Heat are only 12-11 in their last 23 home playoff games, excluding the &ldquo;home&rdquo; games from the bubble in 2020. Among those 11 losses: defeats by 17 and 29 points to the Bucks in 2021. The Heat were 27-14 at home this season, plus 1-1 in the play-in tournament, while Milwaukee was an NBA-best 26-15 on the road.
&mdash; KEEP AN EYE ON: The 3-point line. Milwaukee made 25 3s in Game 2, and that was without Giannis Antetokounmpo around the basket for the Heat to worry about. There&rsquo;s no way the Bucks are losing when they&rsquo;re making that many 3s.
&mdash; INJURY WATCH: All eyes on Antetokounmpo, whose back contusion knocked him out of Game 1 early and kept him out of Game 2 entirely. Miami obviously won&rsquo;t have Tyler Herro, who will be recovering from surgery to repair the right hand that he broke in Game 1.
&mdash; PRESSURE IS ON: Miami. Milwaukee routed the Heat in Game 2 without their best player even in uniform. Miami has to respond.

LeBron James wasn’t about to drop down to Dillon Brooks’ level of discourse heading into a pivotal game for the Los Angeles Lakers.

LeBron James not trading trash talk with Dillon Brooks before Game 3

Nobody blocked more shots per game, nor had better defensive numbers at the rim this season, than Memphis&rsquo; Jaren Jackson Jr.
And voters noticed.
The Memphis big man was announced Monday night as the NBA&rsquo;s defensive player of the year, becoming the second player to win the award while wearing a Grizzlies&rsquo; uniform. He joins Marc Gasol in that club, after the Spaniard did it a decade ago.
Jackson led the league with 3.0 blocks per game this season, after finishing fifth in the defensive player of the year voting last season. He got 56 first-place votes and 391 voting points to finish ahead of runner-up Brook Lopez of the Milwaukee Bucks, who got 31 first-place votes and 309 points. Cleveland&rsquo;s Evan Mobley &mdash; in just his second NBA season &mdash; was third with eight first-place votes and 101 points.
&ldquo;Team defense really helps us. It goes a long way,&rdquo; Jackson said on the TNT broadcast that announced the award.
The shooting percentage that Jackson allowed at the rim &mdash; 46.9% &mdash; was the best in the league among those with at least 300 shots defended there, and was an obvious plus on Memphis&rsquo; path to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
&ldquo;Hands down, no-brainer, JJ&rsquo;s definitely defensive player of the year,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said earlier this month.
Jenkins could get into all the analytics that he wants, but the simple eye test also tells the story. Jackson wasn&rsquo;t ready for the start of the season because his surgically repaired right foot needed more recovery time.
And Memphis was, well, not great on defense while waiting for Jackson to get ready.
&ldquo;He missed the first (15) games of the year. We were really bad defensively,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;He comes back into the lineup and things turn the corner drastically.&rdquo;
Jackson gave Jenkins and the Grizzlies&rsquo; staff much credit for his role in helping him win the award.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;ve instilled the confidence in me to be aggressive offensively &mdash; but really unleash me defensively to go out there and do whatever,&rdquo; Jackson said.
Lopez, the runner-up, had never been this close to a major individual award in his 15 NBA seasons.
Even though he&rsquo;s always been a shot-blocker &ndash; he&rsquo;s swatted 1.8 per game throughout his career &ndash; this was the first time that Lopez was a serious candidate for the DPOY award. He finished 10th in the balloting in 2020, a season in which his Milwaukee teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo took home both that award and MVP.
Lopez blocked a career-best and league-high 193 shots this season, plus contested 17.5 shots per game &mdash; by far the most of anyone in the league.
Golden State&rsquo;s Draymond Green was fourth, followed by Miami&rsquo;s Bam Adebayo in fifth, Antetokounmpo in sixth, Toronto&rsquo;s O.G. Anunoby and Milwaukee&rsquo;s Jrue Holiday tied for seventh, Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid and Brooklyn&rsquo;s Nic Claxton tied for ninth, Chicago&rsquo;s Alex Caruso in 11th and Miami&rsquo;s Jimmy Butler in 12th.
The award was the first major individual one to be announced by the league this season.
Three more awards are scheduled to be revealed later this week &mdash; Clutch Player (Butler, Chicago&rsquo;s DeMar DeRozan or Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox) is coming Tuesday, Coach of the Year (Sacramento&rsquo;s Mike Brown, Oklahoma City&rsquo;s Mark Daigneault or Boston&rsquo;s Joe Mazzulla) will be announced Wednesday and Sixth Man of the Year (Boston&rsquo;s Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee&rsquo;s Bobby Portis Jr. or New York&rsquo;s Immanuel Quickley) will be revealed Thursday.

Nobody blocked more shots per game, nor had better defensive numbers at the rim than Jaren Jackson Jr. And voters noticed.

Jackson wins Defensive Player of the Year over Lopez, Mobley

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer expressed cautious optimism regarding the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo after the two-time MVP left Milwaukee&rsquo;s Eastern Conference playoff opener with a bruised lower back.
Antetokounmpo isn&rsquo;t the only prominent player already dealing with a health issue after the first weekend of the playoffs. Injuries to some of the NBA&rsquo;s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason, with title hopes possibly fading just as quickly depending on how bad they&rsquo;re hurt.
Budenholzer said Monday that Antetokounmpo underwent an MRI after the game that revealed &ldquo;everything&rsquo;s clean.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">The Bucks lost 130-117 to the Miami Heat</a>&nbsp;on Sunday and trail the best-of-7 series 1-0 heading into Game 2 on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;I would say he&rsquo;s still sore, but I think progress,&rdquo; Budenholzer said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s getting some treatment. I think we&rsquo;ll just continue to monitor him for the next day or two. We&rsquo;re probably fortunate that (we have) two days between games. I think (we&rsquo;re) still mostly positive, mostly optimistic, but we&rsquo;ll see how he feels over the next day or two.&rdquo;
Injuries over the span of a couple hours Sunday also sidelined two-time All-Star Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and the Miami Heat&rsquo;s Tyler Herro, keeping them from finishing their playoff openers.
Anthony Davis scared Los Angeles Lakers fans by grabbing at his right shoulder and saying he couldn&rsquo;t move his arm. Luckily for the Lakers, Davis rebounded from a stinger and returned for the start of the third quarter of their&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 victory over the Grizzlies.</a>
Both Antetokounmpo and Morant were hurt on drives to the basket where each landed awkwardly.
Antetokounmpo came down hard on his backside after being fouled by Miami&rsquo;s Kevin Love. The Bucks&rsquo; forward got up slowly with 4:13 left in the first quarter. He picked up his second foul about 2 1/2 minutes later but played about 11 minutes for the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s No. 1 seed.
The Bucks went on to lose&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-bucks-butler-giannis-herro-injuries-94e39b603906b4438a4fb2dc6144a684">130-117 to Miami</a>.&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/heat-tyler-herro-bucks-ffd01cc8e98856cbf26078ff48c7d096">Herro broke his right hand</a>&nbsp;late in the second quarter, apparently while diving for a loose ball. The Heat disclosed the severity of his injury at halftime.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro,&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/lmhelmbrecht/status/1647759335391477760?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seen with a cast on his hand after the game,</a>&nbsp;won&rsquo;t play Game 2 on Wednesday night and the Heat will figure out what to do next.
&ldquo;I got the same diagnosis that you all heard,&rdquo; Spoelstra said.
Morant came into Sunday&rsquo;s first-round Western Conference series with his right hand already bandaged after being hurt in a win that clinched the No. 2 seed for the Grizzlies.
Then he drove to the basket against the 6-foot-10 Davis with 5:48 left, with Memphis trailing the Lakers 105-101. His right hand appeared to bend the wrong direction as he hit the court. Morant writhed in pain, then ran toward the Grizzlies&rsquo; bench letting out a yell near midcourt before sprinting to the locker room.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said X-rays were negative and the Grizzlies will do further testing taking this injury one day at a time.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not the medical expert,&rdquo; Jenkins said.
Morant said he&rsquo;s doubtful for Game 2 on Wednesday night with Memphis down 0-1 following a&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lakers-grizzlies-nba-playoffs-b97a64fd11814378da7a37883e9997fa">128-112 loss</a>.
&ldquo;Tough man, especially with everything I&rsquo;ve been through pretty much this season,&rdquo; said Morant, who was&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-grizzlies-nba-gun-investigation-allstar-9819e8b8b5c42da71488db6688f85ca3">suspended by the NBA for eight games in March</a>&nbsp;after livestreaming himself holding a gun at a Denver-area strip club.
The guard who set the Grizzlies&rsquo; single season scoring record averaging 26.2 points a game wants to play. Memphis already is without center Steven Adams because of an&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/grizzlies-steven-adams-injury-ec017c3b6d3a5a40fbac68e311ad79b5">injured knee</a>&nbsp;and reserve big man&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brandon-clarke-memphis-grizzlies-torn-achilles-12b9cc6fbc1675b786d4b4ba0dd9aaa5">Brandon Clarke tore an Achilles tendon</a>&nbsp;in March.
&ldquo;Another incident where that&rsquo;s pretty much in jeopardy,&rdquo; said Morant, who missed the final three games of&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/memphis-grizzlies-golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-basketball-97a1c9789d3a3ad4bea8751117f69387">Memphis&rsquo; semifinals loss to eventual champ Golden State</a>&nbsp;with an injured knee.
Pain level and how effective he can be will decide if Morant can play.
&ldquo;I feel like I can go out there and be somewhat myself, I&rsquo;ll be playing,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;If not, I don&rsquo;t want to do anything to hurt the team.&rdquo;
The Clippers survived their opener by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/clippers-suns-leonard-durant-westbrook-28319b522530ea87a035106976478d04">beating No. 4 seed Phoenix 115-110</a>&nbsp;without eight-time All-Star guard Paul George, who&rsquo;s been sidelined by&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-clippers-paul-george-injury-b0d5e91971a68b5a970ae3f6c2c7933e">sprained right knee</a>&nbsp;since late March.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham may have been the happiest coach after sending Davis to the locker room with 1:15 left in the second quarter to make sure the medical team started working on the eight-time All-Star immediately.
&ldquo;Just happy he&rsquo;s OK,&rdquo; Ham said.

Injuries to some of the NBA’s top stars have dimmed the start of the postseason and changed title odds in both conferences.

Injuries to NBA stars Giannis, Ja dim start of postseason

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Rui Hachimura had a career-best playoff scoring performance with 29 points, including 21 in the second half, and LeBron James added 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.
Austin Reaves added 23 points, including nine straight in the closing minutes as the Lakers pulled away. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and D&rsquo;Angelo Russell, who scored only two points in the Lakers&rsquo; play-in win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, finished with 19 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 31 points, while Desmond Bane scored 22. Ja Morant had 18 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injured right hand.
Los Angeles wrested home-court advantage from the Grizzlies, who had the NBA&rsquo;s best home record at 35-6. Game 2 is Wednesday at FedExForum.
It was Hachimura from Japan who provided Los Angeles some breathing room in the third quarter, connecting on all four of his 3-point attempts. Hachimura&rsquo;s only previous playoff experience was in 2021 with Washington, which lost a first-round series to Philadelphia. The Lakers acquired him from the Wizards in a midseason trade.
The Lakers earned the seventh seed in the West by beating Minnesota in the play-in tournament. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in 2022 and was eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns a year earlier.
Memphis finished with 51 wins, its second straight 50-victory season, to earn the No. 2 seed.
The Lakers led by as much as 10 in the first half as Memphis faced some early ballhandling woes. Jarred Vanderbilt&rsquo;s defense kept Morant out of the paint for a while. But Memphis outscored the Lakers 38-27 in the second quarter to carry a 65-59 lead into the break.
TIP-INS
Lakers: This is the first time Los Angeles has faced Memphis in the postseason. ... Davis left the court late in the second quarter with an injury to his right arm. He returned to start the second half. ... The first Los Angeles turnover came with 8:41 left in the second quarter. Its second came a minute later. ... James passed Robert Horry for 24th on the Los Angeles all-time playoff scoring list in the second quarter.
Grizzlies: C Steven Adams (right knee PCL sprain) and C/F Brandon Clarke (left Achilles tendon tear) were out and are expected to miss the playoffs. ... Morant played with his right hand wrapped from what coach Taylor Jenkins described as a contusion in his pregame availability. Morant hurt the hand again in the fourth quarter when he landed awkwardly on the hand, called for a charge against Davis.

The Lakers beat the Grizzlies 128-112 on Sunday in the opening game of their Western Conference playoff series.

Hachimura’s big 2nd half leads Lakers past Grizzlies in Game 1

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers have been named the NBA's Western and Eastern Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in March and April.
Jenkins led to the Grizzlies to a 14-8 record over that span, and Memphis overcame plenty of obstacles to finish as the No. 2 seed in the loaded Western Conference.&nbsp;
Rivers led the Sixers to a 15-7 record over that span, helping Philly finish as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The other nominees for this award were Darvin Ham (Los Angeles Lakers), Willie Green (New Orleans Pelicans), J.B. Bickerstaff (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks).

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins and 76ers head coach Doc Rivers have been named the NBA's Coaches of the Month.

Taylor Jenkins, Doc Rivers named NBA Coaches of the Month

<div>
MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Jaren Jackson had 36 points, Luke Kennard added 19 and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 137-114 on Friday night to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season.
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Memphis entered the game with a two-game lead over Sacramento for second place in the West, but the Kings owned the tiebreaker. Denver took the No. 1 seed in the West on Wednesday night.
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"It's very important," Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said about the second seed. "We're a very good team at home, so we obviously want that home-court advantage. Definitely big time for us."
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Morant, who finished with 12 points and eight assists, went to the locker room early in the game after sustaining a right wrist and hand injury in a collision with Milwaukee's Jae Crowder. Morant, who later returned to the game, had a large wrap on his right arm in the locker room afterward.
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When asked about his condition, Morant said: "I'm good."
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After trailing by one point at the half, Memphis took command with a 24-7 run to start the third. The Grizzlies led by 24 in the quarter and held the Bucks at bay throughout the remainder of the game.
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"Our communication wasn't great in the first half," Kennard said. "We didn't play up to how we have been playing, especially on the defensive end. We weren't very physical and we kind of laid back a little bit."
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Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said he challenged the team at halftime to be more physical and communicate better.
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"We raised our level in that third quarter," Jenkins said.
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The Grizzlies held the Bucks to 15 points in the third after surrendering 41 points in the second.
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<div>
"Better discipline, a little bit more effort," Jackson said. "We figured it out and I'm glad we did."
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<div>
The increased intensity on defensive after halftime gave a boost to the Grizzlies offense, Kennard said.
</div>
<div>
"We didn't give them many second chance opportunities and we were able to get out in transition and get some easy looks," he said.
</div>
<div>
Lindell Wigginton had 25 points and Crowder a season-high 24 to lead Milwaukee. Wigginton had a total of eight points in limited action this season prior to Friday's output. He also had 11 assists.
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"It was a great opportunity for Lindell," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He brings a toughness, a competitiveness. He makes shots. He gets to the paint."
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The Bucks, who clinched the NBA's best record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory over Chicago on Wednesday, sat six players, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez.
</div>
<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
Antetokounmpo, who also sat out Wednesday, was listed on the injury report with a sore right knee. Holiday and Lopez rested, while Middleton was held out with a right knee issue. Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton also sat out with ankle injuries.
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
Bobby Portis and Joe Ingles were active but didn't play.
</div>
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The Bucks' makeshift lineup got off to a hot start and led by nine in the first quarter before the Grizzlies pulled ahead and led 36-31 after the period.
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After the Grizzlies charged to an 11-point lead in the second, the Bucks rallied to take a 72-71 lead at the half, paced by 18 points from Crowder, who made all seven of his shots from the field, including four from 3-point range. Milwaukee shot 15 of 30 from deep over the first two quarters, which allowed them to hold the lead despite Memphis shooting 65% overall in half.
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TIP-INS
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
Grizzlies: Kennard, who came in averaging 9.1 points per game, had 11 in the first quarter. &hellip; Jackson had 22 first-half points. &hellip; Outscored the Bucks 62-34 in the paint. &hellip; Finished 16-24 on the road.
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<div class="oc-c-body-part oc-c-body-part--text">
Bucks: Antetokounmpo was honored in a pregame ceremony for his accomplishments this season, including becoming the franchise leader in points, assists and games played. He was joined on the court by Middleton, former Bucks star Paul Pressey and one-time general manager John Hammond, who selected Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in the 2013 draft.
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UP NEXT
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Grizzlies: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.
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Bucks: At Toronto on Sunday.
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The Memphis Grizzlies beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 137-114 on Friday night to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the West.

Grizzlies beat Bucks 137-114, secure No. 2 seed in West

NEW ORLEANS (AP) &mdash; Herbert Jones scored a career-high 35 points and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 138-131 in overtime Wednesday night and clinch a play-in spot.
Jones&rsquo; fast-break dunk capped a decisive 10-0 run to open the extra period. The surge started with a pair of 3s by Trey Murphy III, who hit seven 3s in the game and finished with 30 points.
The Pelicans combined to hit 21 3s, including five by Jones, who is known more as a defender than a scorer and was left wide open on several of his perimeter baskets.
CJ McCollum hit six from deep and finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, while Brandon Ingram overcame a slow start and hit a slew of clutch shots to wind up with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
The victory guarantees the Pelicans at least a top- 10 finish in the Western Conference, good enough to get into the play-in. The question is what seeding they&rsquo;ll have after their final two games.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 40 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for Memphis, which led for most of regulation despite resting Ja Morant (left hip), Luke Kennard (right ankle) and Xavier Tillman (right ankle).
Despite those absences, Memphis surged in front by 19 late in the second quarter when Brooks hit a 10-foot turnaround fade to make it 69-50.
The Grizzlies led for most of regulation and were up 101-89 in the fourth quarter when the Pelicans stunningly turned the game on its head with a 22-6 run during which they made seven 3s &mdash; four by Murphy. That put New Orleans in front 111-107 and had the crowd roaring and out of their seats as Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins called timeout.
Ingram, who scored 10 in the last 3:39 of regulation, hit a 16-foot, pull-up jumper in the face of tight defense from Dillon Brooks to make it 123-118 with 14.3 seconds left, and Trey Murphy III made it 124-118 when he hit one of two free throws with 11 seconds to go.
Memphis then remarkably forced overtime with a 6-0 run in the last five seconds, starting with Brooks&rsquo; corner 3 as he was fouled by Jones.
Brooks missed the free throw, apparently on purpose in hopes of his team getting a rebound, but New Orleans got it and called timeout, only to turn the ball over on an offensive foul during and inbound.
New Orleans then fouled Desmond Bane on the dribble with 2.6 seconds left, and he hit one free throw before purposely missing the second. Jaren Jackson rebounded and was fouled as he tried to put the ball back up with 0.4 on the clock. Jackson hit two free throws to tie it at 124.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies: Brooks finished with 25 points, while Bane had 24. Tyus Jones had 13 points, 12 assists and four steals. ... Outscored the Pelicans 70-34 in the paint and outrebounded New Orleans 49-44.
Pelicans: Had three players with 30 points in a game for the first time in franchise history. ... Need one more victory in their last two games to finish with a winning regular season record for the first time since 2017-18, when they went 48-34. ... Shot 50% (44 of 88), including 21 of 39 (53.8%) from 3.
UP NEXT
Grizzlies: At Milwaukee on Friday night.
Pelicans: Host New York on Friday night.

Herbert Jones scored a career-high 35 points and the Pelicans overcame a 19-point deficit to beat the Grizzlies 138-131.

Pelicans top Grizzlies 138-131 in OT, earn play-in spot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane scored 30 points and keyed a fourth-quarter rally, Ja Morant added 23 points and nine assists and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 119-109 on Tuesday night.
Luke Kennard added 20 for Memphis, converting 6 of 10 3-pointers.
Skylar Mays, who signed a 10-day contract with Portland last weekend, led the Trail Blazers with 24 points and seven assists. Shaedon Sharpe added 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Jabari Walker finished with 16 points.
Portland held the lead with nine minutes left, but Bane connected on a trio of 3-pointers over a four-minute stretch midway through the fourth. That was part of a 22-2 Memphis run to put away the feisty Trail Blazers.
&ldquo;We tied it up, and we went on a nice run,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said of the fourth quarter when Memphis outscored Portland 23-14. &ldquo;Des (Bane) helped spark that.&rdquo;
As it has in recent games, Portland played without key pieces, such as leading scorers Damian Lillard (32.2 points a game), Anfernee Simons (21.1 points) and Jerami Grant (20.5 points), along with top rebounder Jusuf Nurkic (9.1 boards per game).
That left a number of reserves to carry the Trail Blazers, who are out of the playoff hunt. But Portland coach Chauncey Billups praised his team for their fortitude in a hostile environment.&nbsp;
Memphis not only won its 50th game of the year, but finished the season 35-6 at home, clinching the best home slate in the league.
&ldquo;I thought we definitely played hard,&rdquo; said Walker, who was 6 of 11 from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers. &ldquo;We were in it the whole game, and that speaks volumes to all the guys, how competitive we are and how much heart we have.&rdquo;
The Trail Blazers chipped away at a 19-point Memphis lead in the first half when the Grizzlies became lackadaisical with the ball. That, and a much more focused Portland defense, led to Memphis holding a slim 66-62 lead at the break.
&ldquo;We just went to old habits,&rdquo; Morant said of the lackluster play in the game&rsquo;s middle stages. &ldquo;Just no energy. That was pretty much it. We weren&rsquo;t taking them lightly at all. We&rsquo;d seen what they&rsquo;ve done the last couple of games.&rdquo;
At the start of the third quarter, Portland&rsquo;s intensity continued, and the Trail Blazers not only pulled even, but took the lead. They were still tied until Bane and the Grizzlies pulled away with the late burst.
&ldquo;For us to be able to stay together and come back and get a win was big-time,&rdquo; Morant said.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Portland was one of the few visiting teams to defeat the Grizzlies this season, winning 122-112 on Feb. 1. ... Portland already had eight players listed as &ldquo;out&rdquo; with the early injury reports. By the time Billups got to the podium for his pregame comments, three more previously listed as questionable were not available. That left nine Trail Blazers in uniform. ... Jeenathan Williams, the rookie out of Buffalo signed by Portland on Saturday, started his first game and finished with four points.
Grizzlies: F Dillon Brooks took the night off with right hip soreness. Kennard started in Brooks&rsquo; spot. ... The win snapped a four-game losing streak to Portland at FedExForum.
KENNARD ACCURACY
Kennard started the game hitting all four of his 3-pointers before finishing 6 of 10 from outside the arc. He has made better than 50% of his 3-pointers since joining the Grizzlies in a trade deadline deal in February. Morant told Kennard to keep shooting when he is on that kind of streak. &ldquo;Whatever shot he likes, we love,&rdquo; Morant said.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Play Thursday at San Antonio against the Spurs.
Grizzlies: Play the Pelicans in New Orleans on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Desmond Bane scored 30 points and keyed a fourth-quarter rally, Ja Morant added 23 points and 9 assists.

Bane’s late burst leads Grizzlies past Trail Blazers 119-109

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Desmond Bane scored 22 points and Luke Kennard had 17 as the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 20-point first-half deficit and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-94 on Friday night.
Kennard keyed a second-quarter rally with four 3-pointers and finished the game with five against his former team. Kennard was traded to Memphis on Feb. 9 as part of a three-team deal.
The Grizzlies eventually built a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter following Bane&rsquo;s steal under the Clippers&rsquo; basket and a driving layup.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said the key to the team&rsquo;s comeback was the ability to make a 7-0 run during the final minutes of the opening quarter.
&ldquo;We got a little spark there,&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;I just started telling the guys we&rsquo;re starting to feel the pace (better) and the physicality and urgency that we need ... if we hadn&rsquo;t had that spark at the end of the first quarter to cut it to 13, it may have been a difference outcome.&rdquo;
Norman Powell scored 16 points to lead the Clippers, Ivica Zubac had 15 points and 15 rebounds, and Eric Gordon finished with 13 points.
&ldquo;We knew they were going to make a run, we just didn&rsquo;t know it was going to be that fast,&rdquo; Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. &ldquo;We put ourselves in good position (to win), we just didn&rsquo;t do a good job finishing the game, taking care of the basketball, taking good shots and getting defensive stops.&rdquo;
Memphis and Los Angeles were playing for the second time in three days in Memphis. The Clippers won 141-132 on Wednesday to snap the Grizzlies&rsquo; 12-game home win streak. Russell Westbrook had 36 points in the Clippers&rsquo; victory but was held to just four points and a game-high 11 assists in this one.
In Wednesday&rsquo;s loss, the Grizzlies played without starters Jaren Jackson Jr. and Bane, along with key reserves Tyus Jones and John Konchar. All were out with various ailments.
Kawhi Leonard missed Wednesday&rsquo;s game for the Clippers and returned Friday to play 18 minutes. He scored 12 points.
After taking their first lead midway through the second quarter on Jones&rsquo; floater to go up 40-38, the Grizzlies never trailed again.
The Grizzles started slowly and fell behind 34-14 late in the first quarter. Memphis was hampered by eight first-quarter turnovers.
However, the Grizzlies recovered behind Kennard&rsquo;s 3-point shooting in the second quarter during a 24-4 run to tie the score at 38-all. Memphis eventually built a 52-45 lead late in the quarter and led 55-51 at the half.
&ldquo;We just chipped away a little at a time with the group that came in (during) the second quarter,&rdquo; Kennard said. &ldquo;We really locked in, played really good defense, started moving the ball really well and got out in transition, which was a big key for us.&rdquo; Kennard had 14 first-half points for the Grizzlies, who followed a sloppy first quarter by committing only one turnover in the second.
Ja Morant struggled in the first half and had only 3 points at the break. He finished with 10 points in 26 minutes.
&ldquo;Our bench came in and stepped up big-time for us,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;It was something we needed after a loss (to the Clippers on Wednesday &ldquo;We have all the confidence in the world (Kennard) can knock down his shots. He could shoot (with the Clippers) and he can shoot now. But now he&rsquo;s on our side.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Clippers: The Clippers were held to fewer than 100 points for only the third time in their past 38 games. ... Since Jan. 6, the Clippers are sixth in the NBA in offensive rating (118.6) and first in 3-point percentage (39.8).
Grizzlies: Kenneth Lofton Jr. was named NBA G-League Rookie of the Year on Friday. He averaged 20.2 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 17 appearances for Memphis. ... Jackson broke his single-season franchise record of 177 blocks Friday with a third-quarter block of Norman Powell. Jackson entered the game averaging 3.05 blocks per game, which leads the NBA.
UP NEXT
Clippers: Host New Orleans on Saturday.
Grizzlies: Host Chicago on Sunday.

Desmond Bane scored 22 points as the Grizzlies overcame a 20-point first-half deficit and beat the Clippers 108-94 on Friday.

Bane, Kennard help Grizzlies rally to beat Clippers 108-94

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant was welcomed back Wednesday night with a standing ovation and cheers throughout the arena in his first action after missing nine games &mdash;&nbsp;<a class="paragraph-link" href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/morant-apologizes-again-after-nba-suspension-for-mistakes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eight because of an NBA suspension.</a>
Morant, who was not in the starting lineup against the Houston Rockets, entered the game after a timeout with 3:05 left in the first quarter, replacing starter Tyus Jones. The cheers began to build as Morant rose from the bench and made his way to the scorer&rsquo;s table, adjusting the specially fit mask from a previous nasal fracture.
The standing ovation and the cheers reached their peak even before Morant was announced as entering the game.
Morant ended up playing 24 minutes and finished with 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting overall and 5 for 6 from the line as the Grizzlies beat the Rockets 130-125. Morant added five assists and four rebounds.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
WELCOME BACK, JA MORANT! <a href="https://t.co/kugBKWOB1y">pic.twitter.com/kugBKWOB1y</a>
&mdash; BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews/status/1638702621618733060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2023</a></blockquote>

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The first cheers came when Morant emerged from the locker room for pregame warmups.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said the decision for Morant to come off the bench was a collaborative one after discussions with Morant and the team&rsquo;s medical personnel. The Grizzlies are making sure Morant is building up to game shape. Memphis also went 6-3 during Morant&rsquo;s absence contributing to the decision.
&ldquo;This was something he brought to the table as well as it&rsquo;s been on my mind,&rdquo; Jenkins said before the game. &ldquo;So, we collectively thought this was the best strategy at least for the first one or two games. Then we will kind of reevaluate after that.&rdquo;
This is Morant&rsquo;s first action since the Grizzlies lost March 3 at Denver. Hours after the game, Morant live-streamed himself at a Denver-area strip club showing himself briefly brandishing a gun.
That earned Morant a sit-down with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and $669,000 in pay for the suspension in which the league ruled his conduct was &ldquo;detrimental to the league.&rdquo;
Morant&rsquo;s suspension ended with Saturday&rsquo;s game against Golden State. He did not play in Monday&rsquo;s game against Dallas, as the team allowed him to work on conditioning before returning to action.
That came Wednesday night. Jenkins said the star guard probably would play between 20 and 25 minutes.
&ldquo;We want to be really smart, not just over the first couple of game, but the first week to two.&rdquo; Jenkins said. &ldquo;We want to be smart with that layoff that we&rsquo;re not doing anything to jeopardize his health as well.&rdquo;
In&nbsp;his first comments since his suspension, Morant said Tuesday that he went to counseling at a Florida facility during his suspension to deal with the stress of becoming one of the NBA&rsquo;s most popular players.
His enthusiastic play, with high-scoring and jaw-dropping dunks, have led to endorsements and rising uniform sales. Asked about whether the short period in counseling was enough to resolve his issues, Morant said it&rsquo;s an ongoing process.
Jenkins emphasized that Morant being used in a reserve role is simply a focus on transition.
&ldquo;Eventually, Ja will be our starter,&rdquo; Jenkins said, drawing a laugh from reporters.

All-Star guard Ja Morant was welcomed back Wednesday night with a standing ovation in his first action after missing nine games.

Ja Morant returns, scores 17 coming off the bench for Grizzlies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Memphis star guard Ja Morant says he obviously made a terrible decision and many mistakes.
The two-time All-Star apologized again Tuesday.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m completely sorry for that,&rdquo; Morant said after practice, speaking publicly for the first time since concluding his eight-game suspension by the NBA. &ldquo;So, you know, my job now is, like I said, to be more responsible, more smarter, and don&rsquo;t cause any of that no more.&rdquo;
The next question is when Morant is back on the floor for the Grizzlies. Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said he anticipates Morant playing in the Grizzlies next game &mdash; Wednesday night against Houston. Morant said his status is &ldquo;still in the air.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Once I feel like I&rsquo;m back in rhythm and in good condition to go back out there, I&rsquo;ll be back out there,&rdquo; Morant said.
The NBA suspended Morant eight games for brandishing a gun in a social media video post at a Denver-area strip club on March 4. The eighth game was Saturday&rsquo;s win over the Golden State Warriors.
Morant had been in counseling at a Florida facility while he served his suspension.
With an unusual number of reporters surrounding him Tuesday and microphones near his face, the 6-foot-3 guard said he &ldquo;never had an alcohol problem.&rdquo; He also plans to abandon social media and let his actions speak for him.
Asked if two weeks was enough to clear up his problems, Morant replied it is an &ldquo;ongoing process.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I went there to counseling to learn how to manage stress,&rdquo; Morant said. &ldquo;Cope with stress in a positive way, instead of ways I&rsquo;ve tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes.&rdquo;
Morant, who signed a five-year supermax contract with Memphis last summer, said he&rsquo;s focused on growing as a leader as his stardom rises and he continues to garner business deals such as his own Ja1 shoe for Nike.
He was on the bench in street clothes Monday night when Memphis beat Dallas 112-108 with the Grizzlies giving him time to condition himself after two weeks away.
During his absence, Memphis went 6-3 and returned to the second spot in the Western Conference just 3 1/2 games behind Denver.
Forward Dillon Brooks said Morant &mdash; seeing how the team has played recently &mdash; offered to come off the bench when he returns.
Brooks vehemently rejected that suggestion.
&ldquo;I said; &lsquo;Hell, no.&rsquo; You&rsquo;re too good of a player,&rdquo; Brooks said of the conversation. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re the engine of this team, and I&rsquo;m going to need you out there getting reps and getting acclimated to who you are as that third quarter, fourth quarter closer.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s the consensus in the Memphis locker room, including Tyus Jones, who replaced Morant at point guard. They don&rsquo;t see the Grizzlies&rsquo; leading scorer needing to do anything to win back the trust of his teammates. Morant ranks ninth in the NBA still averaging 27.1 points per game.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking forward to getting him back on the court, not necessarily putting the past behind us, but learning from the past and continuing to improve moving forward &mdash; for him, for this team,&rdquo; Jones said.
When Morant came to the Grizzlies bench just before the tipoff of Monday&rsquo;s game, the Memphis faithful gave him a standing ovation, a cheer that built as fans recognized him emerging from the tunnel from the locker room. Brooks said that shows what Morant means to the team and the city.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s the one who really put this city on the map,&rdquo; Brooks said. &ldquo;We were a low-market team just roaming around the NBA. Now, we&rsquo;re one of the most talked-about teams in the NBA. We have a pride and a chip on our shoulder every single game.
&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have to prove nothing to us.&rdquo;

Memphis star guard Ja Morant says he obviously made a terrible decision and many mistakes.

Morant apologizes again after NBA suspension for mistakes

Ja Morant received a standing ovation from the Memphis crowd when he arrived courtside just before tip-off Monday night in his return from an eight-game NBA suspension.
The two-time All-Star guard slapped hands with some of his teammates and was part of the line greeting starters as they prepared to begin the game. Morant then took a seat on the bench and watched the Grizzlies rally to be beat Dallas 112-108. It&rsquo;s unclear exactly when he&rsquo;ll play but he could return Wednesday.
&ldquo;He is going to be part of practice (Tuesday), and obviously we&rsquo;re hopeful for Wednesday so long as everything medically clears out,&rdquo; Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said, adding the delay is part of the &ldquo;ramp-up process.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies host the Rockets on Wednesday in the first of two consecutive home games against Houston. The teams meet again in Memphis on Friday.
The Grizzlies know Morant has been working out, trying to be ready for this moment. Memphis was off Sunday after back-to-back wins, and Jenkins said he would like Morant to practice or at least participate in a shootaround before seeing game action.
Morant first stepped away from the team March 4, hours after he livestreamed himself on Instagram displaying a gun at strip club in Colorado following a game against the Denver Nuggets. The Grizzlies said on March 8 that Morant would be sidelined for four more games.
Morant met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in New York before the NBA announced his suspension last week, including six games he already had missed.
The league investigation found that Morant was &ldquo;holding a firearm in an intoxicated state&rdquo; &mdash; but did not prove the gun was owned by Morant &ldquo;or was displayed by him beyond a brief period.&rdquo; The NBA also did not find that Morant had the gun with him on Memphis&rsquo; flight to Denver, or that he possessed the gun in any NBA facility.
Police in Colorado conducted their own investigation and concluded there was no reason to charge Morant with a crime after looking into the circumstances surrounding the video.
Morant said in an ESPN interview that the gun was not his and that he takes full responsibility for his actions.
But the strip club incident wasn&rsquo;t Morant&rsquo;s first eyebrow-raising move. The Grizzlies had been talking with Morant about his off-court conduct even before the March 4 incident.
&ldquo;I can see the image that I painted over myself with my recent mistakes,&rdquo; Morant told ESPN. &ldquo;But in the future, I&rsquo;m going to show everybody who Ja really is, what I&rsquo;m about and change this narrative that everybody got.&rdquo;
Morant, whose suspension cost him $669,000 in salary and possibly a chance to max out the five-year contract he signed last July by making the All-NBA team, also has to keep working on himself away from basketball.
Morant said he underwent counseling during his suspension.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;d probably be the first one to tell you: &lsquo;Nothing is going to change immediately overnight. I&rsquo;m going to learn and grow, but I&rsquo;m going to get the skills and methods to do that both personally and professionally,&rsquo;&rdquo; Jenkins said.
On the court, the Grizzlies are pleased with the growth of the 23-year-old Morant. After Memphis selected him with the No. 2 draft pick in 2019, he was named the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year and last year earned NBA Most Improved Player honors.
He is averaging 27.1 points and has six triple-doubles this season.
He rejoins a Memphis team in the middle of a competitive postseason race. The Grizzlies, who were second in the Western Conference before the March 4 incident, are tied with Sacramento &mdash; four games back of West-leading Denver with 12 games remaining.
Jenkins knows Morant will be &ldquo;chomping at the bit&rdquo; to rejoin his teammates, but the Grizzlies have a plan ready for his return.
Jenkins said that all starts with what&rsquo;s in Morant&rsquo;s head and in his heart.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing a really good job recognizing the improvements he&rsquo;s making,&rdquo; the coach said, &ldquo;and that he has to continue to make.&rdquo;
In his pregame comments before the game with Dallas on Monday, Jenkins seemed ready to move on as the Grizzlies prepare for the stretch run.
&ldquo;Good first day back, and excited to have him back with the team,&rdquo; Jenkins said.
___
Associated Press freelance reporter Clay Bailey contributed.

Ja Morant received a standing ovation from the Memphis crowd when he arrived courtside just before tip-off Monday night.

Grizzlies’ Morant gets standing ovation after NBA suspension

Ja Morant&rsquo;s eight-game NBA suspension is over, and the two-time All-Star guard may rejoin the Memphis Grizzlies.
He is expected on the bench Monday night when Memphis hosts Dallas, though it&rsquo;s unclear exactly when he&rsquo;ll play, with the earliest being Wednesday. The Grizzlies announced Sunday that Morant would not play against the Mavericks because of a &ldquo;Return to Competition Reconditioning.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies know Morant has been working out, trying to be ready for this moment. Memphis was off Sunday after back-to-back wins, and coach Taylor Jenkins said he would like Morant to practice or at least participate in a shootaround before seeing game action.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see when he gets back in the team environment,&rdquo; Jenkins said Saturday night before the Grizzlies beat Golden State 133-119. &ldquo;Our anticipation is he&rsquo;s at least out for Monday. We&rsquo;ll cross the bridge on Wednesday as we get a little bit closer.&rdquo;
The Grizzlies host Houston on Wednesday in the first of two consecutive games against the Rockets in Memphis.
Memphis went 5-3 without Morant, who first stepped away from the team March 4, hours after he livestreamed himself on Instagram displaying a gun at strip club in Colorado following a game against the Denver Nuggets. The Grizzlies said on March 8 that Morant would be sidelined for four more games.
Morant met with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in New York before the NBA announced his suspension on March 15, including six games he already had missed.
The league investigation found that Morant was &ldquo;holding a firearm in an intoxicated state&rdquo; &mdash; but did not prove the gun was owned by Morant &ldquo;or was displayed by him beyond a brief period.&rdquo; The NBA also did not find that Morant had the gun with him on Memphis&rsquo; flight to Denver, or that he possessed the gun in any NBA facility.
Police in Colorado conducted their own investigation and concluded there was no reason to charge Morant with a crime after looking into the circumstances surrounding the video.
Morant said in an ESPN interview on March 15 that the gun was not his and that he takes full responsibility for his actions.
But the strip club incident wasn&rsquo;t Morant&rsquo;s first eyebrow-raising move. The Grizzlies had been talking with Morant about his off-court conduct even before the March 4 incident.
&ldquo;I can see the image that I painted over myself with my recent mistakes,&rdquo; Morant told ESPN. &ldquo;But in the future, I&rsquo;m going to show everybody who Ja really is, what I&rsquo;m about and change this narrative that everybody got.&rdquo;
Morant, whose suspension cost him $669,000 in salary and possibly a chance to max out the five-year contract he signed last July by making the All-NBA team, also has to keep working on himself away from basketball.
Morant said he underwent counseling during his suspension.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;d probably be the first one to tell you: &lsquo;Nothing is going to change immediately overnight. I&rsquo;m going to learn and grow, but I&rsquo;m going to get the skills and methods to do that both personally and professionally,&rsquo;&rdquo; Jenkins said.
On the court, the Grizzlies are pleased with the growth of the 23-year-old Morant. After Memphis selected him with the No. 2 draft pick in 2019, he was named the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year and last year earned NBA Most Improved Player honors.
He still ranks ninth in the league averaging 27.1 points and has six triple-doubles this season.
He rejoins a Memphis team in the middle of a competitive postseason race. The Grizzlies, who were second in the Western Conference before the March 4 incident, are tied with Sacramento &mdash; four games back of West-leading Denver with 12 games remaining.
Jenkins said he and his staff need to talk with the medical team to see where Morant is physically. He said they must decide if they can get in a practice before returning the guard to game action.
The coach knows Morant will be &ldquo;chomping at the bit&rdquo; to rejoin his teammates, but the Grizzlies have a plan ready for his return.
Jenkins said that all starts with what&rsquo;s in Morant&rsquo;s head and in his heart.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s doing a really good job recognizing the improvements he&rsquo;s making,&rdquo; the coach said, &ldquo;and that he has to continue to make.&rdquo;
___
Associated Press freelancer Clay Bailey contributed to this report.

Morant is expected on the bench Monday night when Memphis hosts Dallas, though it’s unclear exactly when he’ll play next.

Ja Morant ready to rejoin Grizzlies, NBA suspension over

On Monday night, Ja Morant missed his fifth-straight game since stepping away from the Memphis Grizzlies to seek help following some concerning off-court incidents.&nbsp;
Morant has checked himself into a counseling program in Florida and there's currently no timetable for him to return to the Grizzlies, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35854000/morant-counseling-program-no-return-nba-date-set" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported on Monday evening</a>.
In a statement, Morant said that he's away from the team to "get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being."
The NBA is investigating Morant's antics, which culminated in the All-Star flashing a gun on his Instagram live feed while partying in a Colorado strip club on March 4.
Prior to that incident, there was an offseason altercation between Morant and a 17-year-old, which led to a civil lawsuit. The teenager alleges that Morant and his friend, Davonte Pack, assaulted him.
Pack was recently banned from the Grizzlies' home games for one year after the NBA investigated claims that a laser was pointed at members of the Indiana Pacers following their game in Memphis on Jan. 29. A Pacers security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun, according to The Athletic. However, following the NBA's investigation, the league <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grizzlies-ja-morant-steps-away-to-get-help-after-recent-incidents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said they</a> "found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon."
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins recently revealed that members of the organization tried getting through to Morant about his off-court antics prior to the gun incident.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We have had conversations in the past trying to guide him and help him continue to evolve as a person and a player,&rdquo; Jenkins said, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/grizzlies-tried-to-address-ja-morants-actions-before-gun-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per The Associated Press</a>. &ldquo;Obviously, this came to a head the other day, so we put this process into action.&rdquo;
Even with Morant away from the team, Memphis has won three-straight games. The Grizzlies&nbsp;are 3-2 overall since Morant stepped away. On the season, Memphis is 41-26, which is the second-best record in the Western Conference.
Morant is one of the most electrifying, popular players in the NBA, averaging 27.1 points, 8.2 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals, while shooting 46.3% from the field, 31.6% from three-point range and 74.4% from the free-throw line.

Ja Morant checked himself into a a counseling program in Florida and there's currently no timetable for him to return to the Grizzlies.