Ref admits Morant 'should not have been called for a foul' before ejection

Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant should not have been whistled for a fourth-quarter foul Thursday on Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan, crew chief Pat Fraher admitted postgame.

The call earned Morant a second technical foul, and his subsequent protests resulted in an ejection.

"In live play, the official thought that Morant bumped DeRozan on his jump shot," Fraher told pool reporter Damichael Cole after the Grizzlies' 115-110 win. "However, after postgame review, Morant was in legal guarding position and should not have been called for a foul."

Morant seemed to stand his ground on a post-up attempt by DeRozan midway through the fourth and didn't appear to lift his feet when he contested the latter's turnaround fadeaway jumper. However, the Grizzlies star was assessed a second personal foul on the play, and he took immediate issue with the decision.

Morant walked to Memphis' bench in the aftermath while appearing to point at and utter something to the referees. It was then that he was hit with a second technical for "multiple points and profanity toward an official," Fraher said.

Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins was incensed and had to be restrained by assistants. The team led 98-97 at the time of the incident, and DeRozan converted the subsequent technical free throw to tie the score. However, after Sacramento extended its lead to 101-98, the Grizzlies responded with a 6-0 run to go back in front and never relinquished their advantage for the rest of the game.

Morant picked up his first technical foul less than two minutes prior for also pointing and using profanity toward an official, according to Fahrer. The 25-year-old struggled Thursday, scoring just eight points on 2-of-13 shooting while going 0-of-6 from deep.

"Obviously, I thought he was trying to get going, just couldn't get into the game," Jenkins told reporters postgame. "Obviously a struggle for him, a couple other starters. ... But for our group, they'd built up momentum throughout the game, and when they came in, that's what we've been talking about. No matter who can step on the floor, we know what we got to do."

The Grizzlies improved to 15-8 with the win, tying them with the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks for the second-best record in the Western Conference. The Kings, meanwhile, dipped to 10-13 and remain outside the play-in picture.