MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After a young Memphis Grizzlies fan had her prized basketball stolen, Ja Morant jumped in to ease the anguish.
Ellie Hughes, an 11-year-old Grizzlies fan, was attempting to get Morant’s attention for an autograph at Monday’s game against San Antonio when two people swiped her special ball.
Hughes, of Forrest City, Arkansas, had collected players’ signatures on the ball for the past six years.
Hearing of her plight through social media, Morant reached out to her family, invited her to Wednesday night’s rematch against the Spurs after which gave her his game-worn jersey and Ja 1 Nike shoes, which haven’t been released to the general public yet.
“It’s something I just about like to do,” Morant said of his warm gesture. “You touch someone’s heart like that. A giant fan of the Grizzlies for years. It’s moments like that that mean essentially the most to them. Something they may always remember.”
Morant placed on a show, too, scoring 38 points because the Grizzlies held off San Antonio 135-129 for his or her season-high eighth straight victory.
The star guard, who missed the previous two games with right thigh soreness, was 14 of 25 from the sector, including 3 for five on 3-pointers. He also had a right-handed hammer dunk over Spurs center Jakob Poeltl with 3:35 left to assist Memphis preserve its lead.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After a young Memphis Grizzlies fan had her prized basketball stolen, Ja Morant jumped in to ease the anguish.
Ellie Hughes, an 11-year-old Grizzlies fan, was attempting to get Morant’s attention for an autograph at Monday’s game against San Antonio when two people swiped her special ball.
Hughes, of Forrest City, Arkansas, had collected players’ signatures on the ball for the past six years.
Hearing of her plight through social media, Morant reached out to her family, invited her to Wednesday night’s rematch against the Spurs after which gave her his game-worn jersey and Ja 1 Nike shoes, which haven’t been released to the general public yet.
“It’s something I just about like to do,” Morant said of his warm gesture. “You touch someone’s heart like that. A giant fan of the Grizzlies for years. It’s moments like that that mean essentially the most to them. Something they may always remember.”
Morant placed on a show, too, scoring 38 points because the Grizzlies held off San Antonio 135-129 for his or her season-high eighth straight victory.
The star guard, who missed the previous two games with right thigh soreness, was 14 of 25 from the sector, including 3 for five on 3-pointers. He also had a right-handed hammer dunk over Spurs center Jakob Poeltl with 3:35 left to assist Memphis preserve its lead.
