With every game mattering in the grand scheme of this year’s playoff race, the action is bound to get heated. On Monday night, that’s exactly what happened to the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, a game that finished 120-118 in favor of the latter, when Kevin Durant and Desmond Bane exchanged some words in what was a truly emotional moment in a tussle between two playoff hopefuls
In the dying moments of the third quarter, Bane swung the rock to Grizzlies two-way player Cam Spencer to the corner; Spencer promptly made a triple, with Durant not even making much of an effort to close out, and Spencer was definitely feeling himself, talking some smack to the Suns star in the aftermath of the play. Durant, however, didn’t take too kindly to this, and Bane then came to the defense of his teammate — prompting an altercation between Bane and Durant that had them going head to head.
In the aftermath of the fracas, officials called technical fouls on Durant and Spencer, sparing Bane from the hammer of the law in the process. Perhaps this was justified, as it was the exchange between the two that triggered the altercation anyway.
It takes a lot of stones for anyone to talk trash to Durant; coaches would never instruct their players to poke the bear, but Spencer, a rookie playing in just the 13th game of his NBA career, decided to dish it to the Suns star, who evidently wasn’t all that pleased to hear that kind of talk from the 24-year-old guard.
And with Spencer playing the best game of his career for a Grizzlies squad looking to maintain its place in the West standings, against a team looking to crash the postseason party no less in the Suns, perhaps it’s best to let the rookie have his moment.
Grizzlies make life more difficult for the Suns
The Suns have been fighting an uphill battle all season long; with the season nearing its end, and the 10th spot in the West standings up for grabs amid the Dallas Mavericks’ downfall, the opportunity for them to compete for a playoff spot looks ripe for the taking.
However, the Grizzlies, even though they were without Jaren Jackson Jr., managed to defend home court on Monday night and withstand attempts from Kevin Durant at some crunch-time heroics to win their third game in a row. They are still well within striking distance of the two-spot in the conference, and Spencer and Bane had the last laugh.
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