NBA SUSPENDS JA MORANT EIGHT GAMES FOR VIDEO SHOWING GUN IN CLUB

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer

MIAMI (AP) — Ja

Morant will be back with the Memphis Grizzlies next week, after the NBA handed the All-Star guard an eight-game suspension without pay yesterday and saying his displaying a firearm at a club in suburban Denver earlier this month was “conduct detrimental to the league.” triple-double and 11th of the season — finishing with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists — and Sacramento roared back in the second half with hot 3-point shooting.

Morant missed his sixth consecutive game when the Grizzlies played in Miami last night. He will miss the next two games — at San Antonio on Friday and home against Golden State on Saturday — then be eligible to return on Monday when Memphis plays Dallas, though he is not expected to play that night.

Malik Monk had 19 points, going 5 for 8 on 3s as the Kings overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to win for the fourth time in five and improve to 9-2 in their last 11.

DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 33 points.

HEAT 138, GRIZZLIES 119

MIAMI (AP) — Bam

Adebayo scored 26 points, Tyler Herro added 24 and Miami enjoyed a rare easy victory, beating Memphis.

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Max Strus had 12, Caleb Martin 11 and Kevin Love and Gabe Vincent each had 10. The Heat set a season high for points.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 25 for Memphis.

The Grizzlies played their sixth game without star guard Ja Morant, who was given an eight-game suspension by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver earlier yesterday as the penalty for “conduct detrimental to the league” — in this case, “holding a firearm in an intoxicated state while visiting a Denver area nightclub” and livestreaming it March 4.

CELTICS 104, TIMBERWOLVES 102

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)

— Jaylen Brown scored 35 points, Jayson Tatum added 22 and Boston held on to beat Minnesota.

Malcolm Brogdon added 12 points off the bench for

Boston, which overcame a tough shooting night to win for the third time in four games.

Anthony Edwards had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota.

MAVERICKS 137,

SPURS 128 (Overtime)

SAN ANTONIO (AP)

— Christian Wood had 27 points and 13 rebounds and Dallas overcame a series of blunders at the end regulation to beat San Antonio in overtime without injured All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Dwight Powell and Jaden Hardy had 22 points each and Josh Green added 21 points for Dallas, which snapped a three-game skid.

Keldon Johnson had 27 points to lead the shorthanded Spurs.

The games he already missed will count toward the suspension, and Morant will forfeit about $669,000 in salary.

“Ja’s conduct was irresponsible, reckless and potentially very dangerous,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “It also has serious consequences given his enormous following and influence, particularly among young fans who look up to him.”

Silver met with Morant in New York before announcing the league’s decision.

Other league officials, as well as representatives from the National Basketball Players Association, were part of that meeting.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said he doesn’t expect Morant to play Monday, saying the team is “going to be respectful of the time off he’s had.”

“There will be a quick ramp-up period after that,” Jenkins said.

“Obviously, he hasn’t been playing basketball for almost two weeks now.”

The league’s investigation, which started almost immediately after the March 4 incident in which Morant livestreamed himself on Instagram, found that he was “holding a firearm in an intoxicated state” — but did not prove that the gun was owned by Morant “or was displayed by him beyond a brief period.”

He added that there is so much more potential for growth with the right partnerships, coaching and support.

Persons who are interested in supporting the beach volleyball athletes for their 2023 NORCECA Tour, or simply donating, can contact Jon Issacs at bahamasbeachvolleyball@ gmail.com passed it became clear it wasn’t going to be enough for the English team.

Liverpool had managed a big comeback at home in the 2019 semifinals, rallying against another Spanish club, Barcelona. It won 4-0 after losing 3-0 at the Camp Nou to keep alive a run that eventually ended with the team winning the trophy.

Madrid, which had beaten Liverpool in last year’s final, played in its 300th Champions League game.

The loudspeakers at the Bernabéu played Liverpool’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” anthem at the end of the match as fans from both clubs applauded. “We are two heavyweights who meet each other quite frequently in international football and quite clearly we respect each other a lot,” Klopp said. “It was a really nice gesture, absolutely.”