Ja Morant sends defiant message after ugly Game 1 loss to Thunder
Ja Morant’s message, after the Grizzlies lost in historic fashion to open up their first-round playoff series against the Thunder, was straightforward.
Memphis’ 51-point loss Sunday in Oklahoma City was the worst in franchise playoff history and led the Grizzlies’ superstar to declare that it would “never” happen again.
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“We’ll never play that bad again,” Morant told reporters matter-of-factly after the game.
The Grizzlies surely will want to erase their performance Sunday from their minds, but it’s one that will be hard for fans to forget.
ESPN Research called Sunday’s loss the fifth-highest margin in an NBA playoff game, with the last loss as lopsided as this one occurring back in 2015 when the Bulls toppled the Bucks by 54 points.
Grizzlies guard Ja Morant looks to pass as Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defends during the second half of Game 1 on Sunday in Oklahoma City. AP
Memphis players were trying to keep things in perspective when they addressed reporters after the loss, with Desmond Bane pointing out the fact that there was still plenty of series left to play.
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“At the end of the day, it’s one game,” Bane said, according to The Commercial Appeal. “If we lose by 50 or lose on a buzzer-beater, the series is still 1-0. Not the result we wanted, for sure, but still got a good opportunity to get one on the road in two days.”
Oklahoma City led by as many as 56 points and didn’t play any starters during the fourth quarter.
Ja Morant said the Grizzlies will “never play that bad again” following their 51-point loss to the Thunder in Game 1 of the playoff series. X @LakeShowYo
“Luckily for us, there’s only one way from this, and that’s up,” Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo told reporters, per ESPN. “We will analyze it, we’ll learn from it, and then we will fix those things that hurt us. But there were a lot of things.”
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Morant finished with 17 points on 6-for-17 shooting and recorded four assists.
Memphis will have a chance to show it can rebound from the ugly start to the series when it plays Game 2 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.
