A physical and chippy game between the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies led to an intense postgame interaction between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant, who needed to be separated shortly after the final buzzer sounded.<\/p>\n
Morant, dressed in a gray Nike tech sweatsuit, did not play in Saturday\u2019s loss to the Grizzlies because of a right calf strain, but he became the primary topic of discussion when he pointed his right index finger inches away from Thompson\u2019s face. The veteran sharpshooter pushed Morant\u2019s hand away prior to team security guards deescalating the verbal altercation before it could become physical.<\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
It was one of three occasions in which Thompson was involved in a shouting match with another member of the Grizzlies, with his previous two occurring during the game with Santi Aldama and Vince Williams Jr.<\/p>\n
The Mavericks have lost the first two games of the season series to the Grizzlies. Thompson will have to wait a few months until he has a chance for a rematch, with possibly Morant in the lineup, since they won\u2019t meet again until Memphis returns to American Airlines Center on Feb. 27.<\/p>\n
After the game, Thompson spoke from his locker about each moment of tension, including his spat with Morant.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a funny guy,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cHe has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy that rarely takes accountability, but that\u2019s for another day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson, who led the Mavericks with 22 points, didn\u2019t reveal what Morant specifically said that caused tensions to flare, citing his words as \u201cnothing of intelligent depth.\u201d Shortly after the altercation, Morant crashed his teammate Cam Spencer\u2019s postgame interview and delivered another verbal jab about Thompson.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell \u2018em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn\u2019t bruh from Golden State,\u201d Morant said, referring to Spencer\u2019s team-high three 3-pointers \u2014 which were only half of Thompson\u2019s season-high six triples.<\/p>\n
Morant has appeared in just 71 regular-season games since the 2023-24 season because of a significant amount of injuries and self-inflicted incidents away from the court that led to team and league-based suspensions. He\u2019s averaging 17.9 points this season, his lowest since his rookie season, and a career-worst 16.7% from 3.<\/p>\n
Thompson has a storied rivalry with the Grizzlies dating to his time with the Warriors, which included two six-game playoff series in 2015 and 2022. The Grizzlies, once defined by their \u201cGrit and Grind\u201d identity, were headlined by Mike Conley Jr., Mark Gasol, Zach Randolph and Tony Allen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually have a lot of respect for the Grindhouse,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cThat was a hard team to beat in Memphis. Oh my goodness. This new team, though? I don\u2019t know. They just talk a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thompson, 35, used his veteran leadership to defend Cooper Flagg late in the third quarter when Aldama grabbed Flagg\u2019s leg, causing the rookie to trip. The 18-year-old rookie attempted to confront Aldama, but was held back by Mavericks coach Jason Kidd. Thompson then confronted Aldama and the two needed to be separated. <\/p>\n
The officials deemed Aldama\u2019s action worthy of a flagrant foul and Thompson recalled a moment in 2022 when former Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks received a flagrant foul two that left Gary Payton Jr. with a broken elbow. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith the tall guy, I thought that\u2019s not cool,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen [the Grizzlies] do dirty stuff before. I remember in the playoffs in 2022; they broke my teammate\u2019s elbow on a dirty hit. That made me think of that and I don\u2019t like seeing that done to a rookie. That\u2019s not cool. I\u2019ll compete with you all day on the basketball court, but don\u2019t be dirty. That\u2019s not it.\u201d <\/p>\n
In the fourth quarter, Thompson and Williams were tied up and officials broke up a verbal interaction that led to technical fouls for both players.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve always talked a lot and never really backed it up, either,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI don\u2019t really respect that. I respect guys who back up the talk with play, because talk is cheap. Trust me, I know better than anybody. I\u2019ve been in this league a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The intense postgame interaction between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant is a testament to the rivalry between the Mavericks and Grizzlies. With Morant’s history of injuries and self-inflicted incidents, it will be interesting to see how he responds to Thompson’s comments and how their rivalry unfolds in the future.<\/p>\n
Q: What happened between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant after the game?<\/p>\n
A: Thompson and Morant were involved in a verbal altercation that needed to be separated by team security guards.<\/p>\n
Q: Why did Morant not play in the game?<\/p>\n
A: Morant did not play due to a right calf strain.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the history between Thompson and the Grizzlies?<\/p>\n
A: Thompson has a storied rivalry with the Grizzlies dating to his time with the Warriors, which included two six-game playoff series in 2015 and 2022.<\/p>\n
Q: What did Thompson say about Morant’s comments?<\/p>\n
A: Thompson said that Morant’s comments were “nothing of intelligent depth” and that he has a lot to say but rarely takes accountability.<\/p>\n
X\/Twitter: @MikeACurtis2<\/p>\n
Find more Mavericks coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Intense Postgame Interaction Between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant A physical and chippy game between the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies led to an intense postgame interaction between Klay Thompson and Ja Morant, who needed to be separated shortly after the final buzzer sounded. Morant, dressed in a gray Nike tech sweatsuit, did not play […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":17628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/CGY6OJK7GNDIPCAGPV7Z64TMNI.jpg?auth=ecc3e51a2e2bb6c0808435c3542a7ab07db04243a9a2024df43a2e681225b442&quality=80&width=1200&height=630&focal=1746,301","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17626"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17626"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17629,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17626\/revisions\/17629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}