Midway through the third quarter, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Donovan Mitchell attacked the rim with his signature explosiveness, a blur of power and precision. He cut hard to his right, attempting a swift between-the-legs dribble. But then, things didn’t go according to plan. The ball slipped from his grasp, skipping erratically across the hardwood as the Cavs guard lost his balance and tumbled to the floor.
A loose ball is an invitation to war.
Mitchell scrambled, hands outstretched, but Memphis Grizzlies sharpshooter Desmond Bane was already diving in, arms locked in pursuit. Just as Bane reached for control, the Cavs called timeout. The play should have ended. The game should have resumed. But neither Mitchell nor Bane were ready to let go.
At first, it was just a standoff. A second of silence. Their grips tightened. Muscles tensed. The ball, an unspoken claim to dominance, remained trapped between them. A tug. Then another. Tension snapped like an overstretched wire.
And suddenly, it was more than a fight for possession. Mitchell yanked. Bane yanked back. Then, the bubbling tension erupted.
During the Cavs-Grizzlies game, Donovan Mitchell and Desmond Bane both received technical fouls for a scrum after a loose ball.
Ja Morant and Tristan Thompson received technicals for the ensuing scuffle. pic.twitter.com/KPwxYJoNig
— ESPN (@espn) February 24, 2025
Teammates stormed in, a wave of bodies colliding, crashing into the struggle like a dam breaking under pressure. Shouts ricocheted through the arena, swallowed by the surge of motion. Some players in the fray hadn’t even been on the court or hadn’t even been in the immediate play. But now, they were part of something bigger, something boiling over from competition into conflict between Cleveland and Memphis.
For most of the arena, it was a frenzy. But for Cavs guard Ty Jerome, it was nothing more than noise.
“It was nothing serious,” Jerome said with a shrug after Cleveland’s 129-123 victory. “Neither wanted to give up the ball. Just childish behavior. That’s it.”
The dustup between Cavs’ superstar Donovan Mitchell and Grizzlies sharpshooter Desmond Bane reshaped the game’s intensity
But it wasn’t nothing. It was a moment of reckoning, a surge of intensity that reshaped the battlefield of the game.
“I don’t even remember what happened after I put my hands up,” Mitchell admitted postgame, smirking. “I kind of blackout in those moments. But I knew one thing—I’m too valuable to get thrown out. At the end of the day, the ball was on the floor. I’m not letting it go. He’s not letting it go. That’s all it was. Nothing crazy.”
The referees disagreed. Once the dust settled, a lengthy review that led to four technical fouls followed. The referees flagged Mitchell, Bane, Ja Morant, and Tristan Thompson for the chaos. Mitchell and Bane started it. However, Morant and Thompson had fueled the eruption, charging into the chaos.
Thompson, in particular, could face additional discipline if the league determines he left Cleveland’s bench area to engage in the scuffle. And while Thompson was unavailable for comment, Morant made his stance clear.
“I don’t think guys should have gotten a tech,” Morant said. “That’s my teammate. We were in front of the opposing team’s bench. When you ride for each other, you make sure everybody’s good. That’s just how we do it.”
Memphis center Zach Edey echoed Morant’s loyalty.
“I don’t appreciate when people get physical with my teammates,” Edey said, his voice edged with protectiveness. “I’m always going to stand up for my guy. Especially Des. He’s family. Had Thanksgiving with him. I don’t like when people try to pull stuff like that.”
Asked what, exactly, the Cavs did to provoke such a reaction, Edey’s response was laced with sarcasm. “Just exchanged pleasantries,” he said. “Said hi, asked what’s up, how’s the family.”
Cleveland found clarity in their dustup with Memphis
On the sidelines, Cleveland guard Darius Garland, out with a hip contusion, stood alongside Cavs’ big man Jarrett Allen and Memphis forward Santi Aldama, watching the spectacle unfold with bemused grins.
But Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson wasn’t laughing. He had been among the first to sprint into the chaos, hands out, trying to restore order. And even after the dust settled, frustration lingered in his voice.
“I don’t understand,” Atkinson said, shaking his head. “It was a 50-50 ball [and] I don’t know how it got elevated, I guess I did see Ja join the fray. I wish it would have just been left to Don and Desmond and leave it at that. … I did not love that we had extracurricular people come from the perimeter to get involved.”
Still, in the wake of the confrontation, the Cavs found clarity.
“I could feel us raise our intensity without losing control,” Atkinson said. “That’s the key—sometimes emotions take over, and you start worrying about the other team, the refs. But we stayed locked in.”
Cleveland’s intensity helped them win the battle. But the war? That’s far from over.
Round two of Cavs vs. Grizzlies is just weeks away. After this showdown, it won’t just be another game between two teams that don’t like each other. It’ll be another do-or-die, playoff-like battle.
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