MEMPHIS, Tenn. — First Ja Morant tormented the Nets. Then he trolled them.
Brooklyn lost its poise, then the game, falling to Memphis 135-119 before 15,983 at FedEx Forum in a testy affair that saw Morant taunt Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez and Dennis Schroder have to be separated from Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins.
It was that kind of night.
The Nets were down just 74-72 when they coughed up a 13-0 two-minute blitz that included two technicals, a delay of game and Nic Claxton too busy arguing with the officials to get back on a Memphis 3-pointer.
That run was the game, but the story of the night will be Morant’s antics.
Morant had a game-high 28 points, but all anybody will remember was him baiting the Nets and Fernandez.
Morant pointing at the bench as he sailed in for a dunk.
Strutting upcourt at the end of the first half and talking to Fernandez inches from his face.
And then walking over and jawing at the Nets’ bench with 1:11 left, sparking an incident where he, Schroder and Jenkins all got technicals.
“I was trolling just to get them riled up, and I did,” Morant said. “If ‘yeah’ is disrespectful or makes you feel some type of way, then so be it.”
Clearly the Nets felt some type of way.
Schroder, who had 15 points and eight ᴀssists and loves trash talk as much as the next man, came over to back up his coach and started jawing at Morant and Jenkins before Fernandez pulled him away.
“Every time when I see something, I stand up for my people who I play with, who I go to war with every single night, who I get better with every single day and just try to protect them,” Schroder said.
“I was just trying to protect Jordi at the end of the day. Ja was talking, and I just tried to protect Jordi, see what’s going on. It’s no bad blood. Everybody’s competing. I respect it. But I don’t respect if you win and then you go to the coach’s face. You do that on the court — and I love it on the court. I do it as well — but respect the game when you win. Win with some class. I didn’t appreciate it.”
The Nets, who were sitting a surprising eighth in the East, fell to 10th, just a half-game ahead of 11th-place Detroit and being in the lottery.There are a number of tank-happy fans who will be pleased by that.
Memphis (18-8) has won 10 of its past 11.
Brooklyn put seven in double figures, led by Dorian Finney-Smith (19 points, 5-of-8 from deep, five rebounds) and Schroder.
But they couldn’t slow the Grizzlies, who sH๏τ 52.5 percent and 17-of-36 from deep.
Memphis was led by Morant, Santi Aldama and Jaren Jackson Jr., the latter pair with 20 points each.
The Grizzlies ran them into the ground, and scored 68 points in the paint.
It was close after Finney-Smith hit a 3-pointer, then found Schroder for another to make it 74-72 with 8:52 left in the third.
But Brooklyn coughed up the next 13 points.
Claxton drove and missed but felt he got fouled and argued instead of hustling back.
Morant’s 3-pointer made it 81-72, and Claxton picked up a technical to boot.
After Fernandez picked up a technical arguing on behalf of Claxton, Desmond Bane sank another foul sH๏τ.
A Jaylen Wells 3 made the score 87-72 with 6:48 left in the third, and they trailed by 21 late.
“I will never speak to other players, and I don’t want other players to speak to me,” Fernandez said. “If they want to be nice obviously, that’s part of the game. If not, I don’t want any interaction. I think it’s disrespectful
