Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins narrowly avoided ejection Friday night after defending Jaren Jackson Jr. during an altercation with LeBron James.
During Memphis' 127-113 win over the Lakers, Jenkins, visibly upset by the scuffle, ran onto the court and nearly collided with Taurean Prince, who came onto the court, forcing the game to be stopped. .
After the game, the head coach apologized to Lakers head coach Dervin Ham for getting carried away.
“I can't do that, so I take full responsibility for that.” Mr Jenkins said. “I saw a scuffle there, I saw Jalen squeezing LeBron, and I saw something cross the line…I had to stand up for my opponent.
“I'm glad our guys rallied and obviously got the crowd involved. It was a tied game and we took the lead on a technical free throw. But after that, our guys bounced back and fought through.”
The confusion occurred in the third quarter when Marcus Smart tried to pass the ball to Jackson, who was posting up James.
Jackson was unable to control the ball and a scuffle broke out between the two while on the floor.
The game ended with James still in possession of the ball, apparently hitting Jackson in the face with his elbow or forearm.
Jenkins, who was assessed a technical foul, immediately threw his arms in the air, yelled about the no-call, and ran across the court as play continued, then interrupted the Lakers' fast break.
Fellow coaches and players surrounded Jenkins and held him back until the referee immediately called him a technical foul.
Jenkins continued to shout at them after the fact as they went to review the play.
After a brief review, the referee elected to continue play without awarding any further fouls.
The Grizzlies earned their 12th win of the season (12-23), and Jackson finished the game with 31 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks after the incident.
“That's my dog,” Jackson said. “He's been great all season. He's been great since he's been here. He's been holding it down the entire time, and that's what he's doing. He's a member of us and a player. He's a coach. He's with us in the den, he's with us in the tough times. I don't expect anything more than that. I already know what he's doing. I knew. I could hear his voice even when I was on the ground. I know he would always have my back.”
