On Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers staged a remarkable comeback to defeat the scorching Memphis Grizzlies 122-121, but part of the night was marred by an altercation between Shannon Sharpe and several Grizzlies players.
Afterward, Memphis’ Dillon Brooks threw some shade at the former NFL superstar while saying he should’ve been tossed from Crypto.com Arena.
Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks said Shannon Sharpe, as a fan, shouldn’t have been been allowed to stay at the arena after halftime verbal altercation: “A regular pedestrian like him? No. He should have never came back in the game, but it’s LA.” pic.twitter.com/qXobVt9Nku
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) January 21, 2023
The incident apparently started when Sharpe told Brooks he was too small to guard LeBron James. It resulted in a heated exchange between Sharpe and multiple Grizzlies players (and Ja Morant’s father).
Full video of Shannon Sharpe going after Ja Morant’s dad
(Via @MirjamSwanson)pic.twitter.com/HifMgES738
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) January 21, 2023
Sharpe is well known as a huge fan of James, and he often discusses the four-time MVP during his show “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed.” Skip Bayless, Sharpe’s partner on the show, is widely considered a James hater.
At halftime on Friday, the Lakers trailed 53-49. When they fell behind by 13 late in the third quarter, it looked like it was lights out for them, especially as Morant was starting to get hot.
But James and company refused to quit, as they chipped away at their deficit all throughout the fourth quarter. Finally, with just seconds remaining, guard Dennis Schroder made two free throws to bring the Lakers within one point, then he stole the ball from Desmond Bane and scored on an and-1 to give L.A. the lead. The Lakers held on.
It was a needed win for the team, which had lost several down-to-the-wire games before Friday’s affair and was struggling to hold serve during its five-game homestand.
Russell Westbrook led the way with an impressive performance of 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while Schroder had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Before the win over Memphis, Lakers fans got some good news as it was reported that Anthony Davis could be as soon as one week away from returning. He has been sidelined for just over a month with a stress injury in his right foot, and his return can’t come soon enough, as the Lakers will start a tough five-game road trip in about a week.
