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Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant exited halfway by way of the fourth quarter of Memphis’ 128-112 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the first-round sequence between the groups on Sunday afternoon after struggling a hand harm. Morant landed awkwardly on his outstretched proper hand after making an attempt a dunk and colliding midair with Lakers massive man Anthony Davis. Clearly in ache, Morant instantly subbed out of the sport and headed again to the locker room.
He finally returned to the Grizzlies’ bench, however he did not re-enter the sport. He appeared to have his hand and wrist space wrapped when he was again on the bench.
There had been no breaks or fractures in Morant’s hand, in keeping with The Athletic’s Shams Charania. His standing for Game 2 is unclear, and it’s being described as a ache tolerance difficulty. You can see the play the place the harm occurred beneath:
The Lakers led 105-101 when Morant exited the sport. Memphis was outscored 23-11 the remainder of the way in which, together with a 15-0 run by L.A. to shut the competition. The Grizzlies now discover themselves down 1-0 within the best-of-seven sequence. Prior to hurting his hand, Morant performed half-hour and tallied 18 factors, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
After the sport, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins mentioned that X-rays on Morant’s hand got here again destructive, which is nice information for Memphis. The star guard on Sunday advised reporters that he is in “a superb little bit of ache” and added that his standing for the following recreation is “in jeopardy.”
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Morant’s well being is clearly of supreme significance for Memphis transferring ahead. The Grizzlies are already with out key contributors Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke for the whole thing of their playoff run, and so they merely cannot afford to lose anybody else for an prolonged interval, particularly their All-Star level guard.