Nets coach: Morant 'disrespectful' for trash-talking me directly

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez found Ja Morant's conduct Friday distasteful after the Memphis Grizzlies star jawed at him directly in the final moments.

"I will never speak to other players and I don't want other players to speak to me," the first-year head coach said after Brooklyn's 135-119 loss, courtesy of Clutch Point's Erik Slater. "If they want to be nice, obviously it's part of the game. If not, I don't want any interaction. I think it's disrespectful, it's not part of the game."

Morant began trash-talking Fernandez and his team with just over one minute left in the fourth quarter of the rout, leading to a confrontation between the two sides. Nets guard Dennis Schroder also took exception and exchanged words with Morant and Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins

Schroder, Morant, and Jenkins were assessed technical fouls due to the incident.

Earlier in the game, Morant stared down Fernandez after hitting a buzzer-beating jumper just before halftime.

Morant was the game's leading scorer, tallying 28 points to go along with seven rebounds and 10 assists.

"I was trolling, just to get them riled up," he said, per Slater.

The 25-year-old added that he told Fernandez he was trolling and meant no ill will toward the coach or the Nets.

"I didn't say nothing crazy. If you look at the video ... I was just saying 'yeah'. If 'yeah' is disrespectful, or makes you feel some type of way, then hey, so be it," said Morant.

While Fernandez and Schroder were upset, Nets wing Dorian Finney-Smith offered a different perspective after the 16-point loss.

"If we didn't want them barking, we've got to go out there and fight. And we can't fight with our words. We got to go out there and hit them. And they was the first ones hitting," he said, per the New York Post's Brian Lewis.

The 18-8 Grizzlies are second in the Western Conference after the victory. Meanwhile, Brooklyn fell to 10-15 and won't face Memphis again in the regular season.