Grizzlies and Jazz Get Physical After Ja Morant Tries to Steal Dead Ball

Stephen Douglas | Jan 26, 2025

Keyonte George and Ja Morant have words. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Keyonte George takes ball control very seriously. For proof, look no further than the scuffle that errupted during the second quarter of the Utah Jazz's game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.

George was called for a travel, which is a turnover, but still didn't want to give the ball up. As he started walking up the court Scottiy Pippen Jr. tried to take the ball, but George wouldn't let him. Then Ja Morant came in from behind and slapped the ball away.

And that's when the pushing, grabbing and yelling started.

You'll notice Jaren Jackson and Zach Edey both reacted quickly to protect their point guard, but coach Taylor Jenkins was absolutely furious. It's unclear what really bothered him here, but he was not happy.

In the end there was a double-technical on Morant and George and nothing else to really speak of except that the NBA should tell players to stop trying to take dead balls from opponents. Probably 95% of all NBA scuffles are started by a player trying to annoyingly take a basketball from an opponent after the whistle has blown.

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