MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis guard Ja Morant said after the Grizzlies 120-103 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night that he should have sat out the game because of a lingering right shoulder injury.
Morant scored a team-high 24 points, but was 8 of 22 from the floor and made only two of his nine attempts from 3-point range across almost 32 minutes. He also had six assists, but committed five of the Grizzlies' 15 turnovers.
He had missed the two previous games — both last-second losses — with what the team described as a right deltoid contusion.
“Terrible,” Morant said about the game. When asked to explain, he said: “Because it was. I should have been out. But I was out there. Regardless. Out, in, it's going to be something said.”
At times this season, Morant has groused about people saying he was not playing enough or sitting out certain games. He's missed a dozen games with soreness, illness or sprains.
“I probably wouldn't have played,” Morant reiterated. “But I did.”
And Morant added that his various injuries are not just something that has come up in the last week.
“I played like this all season honestly,” Morant said. “It is what it is. Got to get the win.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
By Clay Bailey, The Associated Press
