We’ve got an NBA Beef: Klay Thompson vs. Ja Morant.
Morant missed his third straight game with a calf strain Saturday night, but that did not stop him from chirping at Klay Thompson from Dallas, who scored 22 points off the bench and was 6-of-12 from 3-point range on the night. However, one of those misses from deep was a 3-pointer to tie the game with :20 seconds remaining, from there Memphis picked up the 102-96 win.
After the game, the two men came together and began exchanging words, but they were separated. After which, Morant went over to Cam Spencer’s live postgame interview and said, “Tell ‘em who the best shooter in the house was, it wasn’t bro from Golden State.”
Back in the Warriors locker room, Thompson fired back and took to reminding everyone who is the future Hall of Famer with rings and saying Morant said, “nothing of intelligent depth. Via [Tim MacMahon of ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47069151/mavs-thompson-scoffs-morant-trash-talk-grizzlies-win):
_“He’s a funny guy,” Thompson said. “He has a lot to say all the time, especially for a guy who rarely takes accountability..._
_“It was really just running his mouth, and he’s been running his mouth for a long time,” Thompson said. “It’s funny to run your mouth when you’re on the bench. It’s kind of the story of his career so far, just leaving us wanting more._
_“We all want to see him out there and do his best, but he’s just been letting a lot of other stuff get in the way of that. We need that in the NBA. We need our best players to be out there, and when you’re a star, it comes with a great responsibility. I hate to see that go to waste.”_
Morant and Thompson have one thing in common: Both are struggling this season. Morant has been in-and-out of the lineup averaging 17.9 points a game shooting 35.9% overall and 16.7% on 3-pointers. Thompson was moved to the bench and is averaging 10.1 points per game and shooting 32.1% from beyond the arc.