Why Ja Morant had message for ESPN after Memphis Grizzlies edged San Antonio Spurs

With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs were tied. Ja Morant was bringing the ball up the court and Dejounte Murray picked him up at midcourt on defense. The game was in the hands of each team's young star.

Morant used his speed to get angles on Murray, forced bigs into switches and scored 41 points. His performance led to a 118-110 Grizzlies win on Wednesday night at the AT&T Center.

The Grizzlies (33-17) shot 51% and had nine blocks and nine steals. The Spurs (18-31) overcame an early double-digit deficit and tied the game late in the fourth quarter. Murray finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

Here are some observations from the game:

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Bad decision by ESPN

While the Spurs and Grizzlies traded baskets in the first half, the Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks game had turned into a blowout. The Heat-Knicks game replaced the Spurs-Grizzlies contest on ESPN. It turns out that was the wrong decision. If the back-and-forth runs of the first two quarters wasn't enough, the third quarter featured highlight dunks layups and blocks from both the Spurs and Grizzlies. The game was then tied in the fourth with under five minutes to play before Morant closed it out.

“Shout out to whoever took us off TV," Morant said. "Appreciate you for that. That game right there was for you too.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. hosted the block party and continued his impressive run. He had a season-high six blocks. He set a new franchise record for most blocks (39) over a 10-game stretch.

"Defensive player of the year, it's kind of a no-brainer," Desmond Bane said. "On the defensive end he can do a little bit of everything."

Ja Morant's gymnastics

Morant is gifted physically, but his mind isn't too far behind. He has a unique ability to torque his body and get difficult baskets. He also can maneuver through the lane while changing speeds, shielding one defender and having his pick-and-roll teammate shield the other. Morant scored in acrobatic ways time and time against the Spurs. With the Grizzlies up 112-110 in the final two minutes, Morant drove and angled his body twice to draw fouls and get free throws.

"In my workouts, I pretty much start with finishes," Morant said. ".... When my big screens his man when I'm coming off, I think y'all need to give that credit to Steve-O (Steven Adams). He told me about it, I did it one time and now we just have that connection."

Welcome back Desmond Bane

Some players need time to get in a rhythm when returning from health and safety protocols. Bane is not one of those players. He wasted little time and scored 11 points in the first quarter. Along with his individual production, the attention he creates as a knockdown shooter and cutter helped the Grizzlies score 34 points in the first quarter. He finished with 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting.

"I'm a hooper," Bane said. "First and foremost, I love the game of basketball. I take this game and my craft very seriously."

Next up

The Grizzlies will return to Memphis to host a back-to-back. Memphis will play the Utah Jazz on Friday and Washington Wizards on Saturday. Friday's game against Utah will feature the third and fourth seeds in the Western Conference. The third-seeded Grizzlies will try to extend their lead.

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Contact Damichael Cole at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @damichaelc

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why Ja Morant reminded ESPN after Memphis Grizzlies had close game vs Spurs