Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard, the man on fire, faced an untimely ejection, resulting in a frustrating loss. Taking on the San Antonio Spurs without their franchise player Ja Morant, the Memphis side was poised to take the W easily. However, De’Aaron Fox & Co. had a different idea with late-game magic. Before that, Kennard, coming off the bench, turned the game in the Grizzlies‘ favor only to get ejected with 7 minutes remaining on the clock.

Interestingly, the refs ejected the 28-year-old in the most unlikely fashion. Yes, it was a two-technical foul ejection, but the gap between the two fouls was long. Usually, we have seen the refs call the first tech and immediately follow it with another one when the player continues to argue. Here, the situation is entirely different.

Let’s examine the first technical foul. Around the 1-minute mark in the second quarter, the Spurs continued to build on their 46-point explosion. As the Grizzlies trailed by 18 points, Luke Kennard attempted to cut the lead with a three-point shot from the wing, but it rimmed out. Frustrated so, Kennard exchanged words with the referee, who immediately called a technical foul on him. Although the details of the argument are unclear, it appears that Kennard likely argued for a shooting foul.

Following that, Kennard put his shooting prowess on display with 6-9 FG, helping Memphis orchestrate a comeback in the third quarter. The Grizzlies posted 38 points in the quarter, forcing the game into even steven again. In the fourth quarter, it was anybody’s game, as both teams exchanged buckets constantly.

However, around the 7th-minute mark, the Spurs expanded the lead by 11 with a stinging three. Kennard, who collected the ball under the rim, threw it on the cushion in frustration. That’s it. The refs blew the whistle, and he was out of the game. After that, it was all De’Aaron Fox‘s show.

De’Aaron Fox closes the night with a cold finish

After Luke Kennard’s exit, the job was only half done. Taking on the #2 seed team, you’d never know when they make a comeback. So, the 11-point lead at the 7th-minute mark wasn’t enough. Instead, the game turned into a nail-biting affair. It was more like a duel between Jaren Jackson Jr. and De’Aaron Fox.

Trailing by four points, Triple J cut the lead to 2 with a tough layup and shortly tied the game at 125 with a contested floater. Now, the ball was on Fox’s court. The star guard foreshadowed his brilliance with three clutch free throws to go up in the scoreboard. With 22 seconds on the clock, Jackson again put the pressure on the Spurs with another game-tying three-pointer. 

Now, it all came down to the 27-year-old. Sprinting up the court, he suddenly stopped at the free-throw line, creating just enough separation before pulling the trigger with three seconds left.

Guess what? It went in. And just like that, the Grizzlies’ hopes were crushed.

Speaking about his game-winner, De’Aaron Fox confidently said at the post-game presser, “When you knew they had no timeouts, so you really try to get off the last shot. I knew that would hit… The last shot always goes in for some reason.”

This win may not guarantee a spot in the playoffs but it did put the Lakers on the third seed, as the Grizzlies slipped two spots after the loss. What do you make of the bucket? Let us know in the comments.