Ja Morant and Stephen Curry faced each other on Sunday for the first time, and the result makes it seem like Curry didn’t forget the way the Memphis Grizzlies star talked smack to him on social media last year.
In a game that decided which team earned the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, Curry gave Morant a firsthand look at why he is a two-time NBA MVP. The Golden State Warriors star dropped 46 points, including nine three-pointers, in his team’s 113-101 win. Curry, who claimed his second career scoring NBA title with the performance, had Morant looking completely deflated.
Morant finished with just 16 points on 7-of-21 shooting. The Warriors dared him to shoot three-pointers all game, and he responded by hitting just 1-of-6 from that range. Morant was ruthlessly trolled with memes after the game.
Curry may have been motivated by some friendly trash talk that was exchanged a little more than a year ago. Morant was unhappy that Andre Iguodala, one of Curry’s former teammates, was trying to force his way out of Memphis. Curry defended Iguodala against criticism from Morant and other Grizzlies players by tweeting a photo that showed Iguodala holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Murry responded with a photo of Kevin Durant holding the NBA Finals MVP trophy, which was his way of saying Durant carried the Warriors.
You can see the entire exchange here.
Morant said at the time that he was a huge Curry fan, and he has since praised Curry on social media numerous times. Still, Curry is such a fierce competitor, and you can bet he didn’t forget it.
By securing the No. 8 seed, the Warriors now have two paths to reach the playoffs via the play-in tournament — win and get in, or lose and then beat the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 game to get in. The Grizzlies are locked into the No. 9 seed, which means they need two wins to earn a playoff spot and would be eliminated with a loss.
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