The Grizzlies lost 122-124 to the Hawks tonight in a nail-biting, intense game that went down to the wire as Ja Morant missed a contested three-point shot to win it all at the buzzer.
The scores were tied 41-41 four minutes into the second quarter of the game when Ja Morant got into a heated exchange with the Hawks player Mouhamed Gueye after a missed layup resulted in a battle for the ball on the floor, initially called a jump ball.
But subsequently, Morant began complaining to the official about the decision.
“He grabbed me by my head first,” yelled Morant at the official who called the jump ball.
Gueye seemingly said something after that, which did not sit well with Morant, who then proceeded to push Gueye right in front of the official. The Hawks’ big man proceeded to hold Morant’s jersey by the collar as players and other officials also rushed towards the two to separate them.
Morant was smiling and remained unbothered while Gueye grabbed onto his jersey for as long as he could without getting ejected. Double technical fouls were assessed to both players.
NBA fans saw this incident as it went viral on social media and expressed their opinions about Morant’s aggression and the validity of Gueye’s response.
“Morant is doing everything except playing basketball.”
“Ja Morant is on his way to be a Ben Simmons.”
“Mo should’ve smacked the sh** out of him.”
“Ja would get folded like an omelette if he actually had to fight.”
“I fw Ja, but he’s really not like that. Bro’s the type to instigate some sh** and whenever someone is actually down to get busy, he starts to smile.”
“See how he snatched Ja’s jersey and he ain’t do nothing 😂😂.”
NBA fans clearly believed that Morant’s aggression wasn’t warranted, and Gueye had a clear size advantage if it came down to throwing punches.
While Morant walked away with a smile, it was Gueye who had the last laugh as Morant missed the game-winning shot and the Hawks went home with a win.
Following the game, Jalen Johnson also threw shade at Morant, saying the Hawks liked their chances when they realized Morant was taking the final shot from beyond the arc.
Morant stuffed the box score and finished tonight with 23 points, 12 assists, two assists, three blocks, and one steal while shooting 7-15 from the field (46.7 FG%).
But it was Jalen Johnson’s 32 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists that helped lead the Hawks to a win tonight. Johnson shot 10-21 from the floor (47.6%) and 2-6 from beyond the arc (33.3%). Meanwhile, Gueye finished with seven points, two assists, and one rebound, making 42.9% of his field-goal attempts (3-7).
Considering that Morant has declared he has no intention of leaving the Grizzlies, and the front office also seems happy with him on the team, the fans are slowly regaining a sense of confidence in Morant’s game.
However, such antics are not doing him a favor in terms of public perception if it doesn’t eventually lead to a win. The Grizzlies, who fell to 18-24 after this loss, are now going to host the Pelicans in their next game on Friday, January 23.
And the Hawks improved to 21-25 and now move on to host the Suns at home on Friday as well.
