Klay Thompson sounds on Ja Morant, Grizzlies

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks were defeated by the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, losing by a final score of 102-96. The loss dropped them to 5-13 on the campaign as The Mavs’ difficult season continued. for dallas, Klay Thompson led the way with 22 points on 7-17 shooting from the field and 6-12 shooting from beyond the arc. It was that up and down season for Thompsonbut he was in rhythm on Saturday night despite the loss. Aside from Klay’s play and loss, the game was filled with heated moments and exchanges.

Santi Aldama was fouled after attempting to trip Cooper Flagg. Thompson stood up for Thompson by exchanging words with Aldama. After the game, Thompson and I Morant — who did not play due to injury — exchanged words. Thompson was asked for moments during his postgame press conference.

Klay Thompson wanted to stick up for Cooper Flagg tonight. Here he explains his exchanges with Ja Morant and Aldam. Says Morant “rarely takes responsibility” pic.twitter.com/j06l1u6lcD

— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) November 23, 2025

“With the tall guy (Aldama), I was just, like, ‘that’s not cool,'” Thompson told reporters. “I’ve seen them do dirty things before. I remember in the 2022 playoffs they broke my teammate’s elbow, a dirty hit. It got me thinking. I don’t like to see that done to rookies, it’s not cool… Don’t be dirty, it’s not that… With Yao, he’s especially fun for him. He has time for everything. He rarely takes responsibility.”

Thompson he was asked then what Morant told him during their heated exchange after the game.

“Nothing of intelligent depth,” Thompson said of Morant’s message to him. “He’s just been talking to him really. He’s been talking for a long time. It’s funny, you run your mouth when you’re on the bench, that’s kind of the story of his career so far. It just leaves us wanting more. We all want to see him out there and do his best, but he’s just been letting our best players in the way that we need…

“When you’re a star, it comes with a lot of responsibility. I hate to see it go down.”

Klay’s overall energy no doubt had an impact on the Mavs in the game despite the loss. He helped them stay in the competition.

“I thought he brought a lot of energy for back-to-back games, something we needed,” head coach Jason Kidd told reporters. “I thought he was a big reason why we were in the game, and that’s why we need that energy, especially when we’re down … But I thought his energy was really, really good.”

The Mavs will now embark on a four-game road trip with their first road contest set for 7:30pm EST in Miami against the Heat.