Fred VanVleet drains key 3s in OT, Raptors top Wizards 116-109 Grizzlies’ Brandon Clarke out for season due to torn Achilles Morant to be ‘away from team’ for two games after apparently flashing gun on Instagram Live Report: Free agent center Nerlens Noel to sign with Brooklyn Nets Former NBA journeyman Anthony Morrow arrested on kidnapping, assault charges

WASHINGTON (AP) Fred VanVliet made two 3-pointers in overtime for 25 points, and on Saturday, the Toronto Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards 116–109 to split the two-game streak.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 26 points to lead the Raptors as they bounced back from a 119–108 loss on Thursday night to again top the Wizards for ninth seed in the Eastern Conference.

FVV earns from corner 🎯

The Raptors lead 110-107 with 1:09 left in the OT.

Watch live on the NBA app
📺: https://t.co/1pomQZMAZK pic.twitter.com/AJtKRpb6cl

— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2023

VanVleet added 10 assists and sorry pascal scored 15 points and seven assists for Toronto.

Kristaps Porzingis the Wizards had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Bradley Beal added 21 points and 10 assists but only scored 7 of 22 and missed out on a jumper who could have won in main mode.

Get out of the way of the Unicorn🦄😤 pic.twitter.com/uFae2XcC34

— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) March 5, 2023

VanVleet tied it at 107 with a 3-pointer with 1:47 left in the OT. After Kyle Kuzma made a couple of free throws to cut it down to one, VanVleet knocked down 3 more to make it 113–109 and Siakam’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left put it down.

Neither team had a double-digit lead for three quarters, but Toronto seemed to be taking control as it opened a 97-84 lead with 9:24 to play.

The Wizards attacked behind Porzingis, who hit three goals in just over two minutes to cut the lead to 105–102 with 2:21 left. Trent and VanVleet haven’t hit 3s before Delon Wright tied him up with his 3s with 30 seconds left.

VanVleet missed 3 more and Beal missed a jumper to force an extra period.

Wright had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

It’s been a tough day for Grizzlies fans.

The Grizzlies reserved the big man Brandon Clark – a key part of their frontcourt rotation – sidelined for the season due to torn Achilles team announced on Saturday.

Clarke fell late in the first quarter on Friday night and had to be helped off the court. Clark made a free throw, entered the lane, then turned to run from the defense and fell, grabbing his leg.

C1@rke pic.twitter.com/5F3OCCQ9LF

— Eric Savage (@ErickSavage13) March 4, 2023

Recovery time from this injury varies from player to player, but he will most likely miss about a year.

In his fourth season, Clark is averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He is in the final year of his rookie contract and signed a four-year, $50 million extension to stay with the Grizzlies after this season.

In just a couple of hours on Saturday, the Grizzlies announced that I am Morant will be out of the team for a couple of games after apparently flashing a gun at the club and showing it on Instagram Live, the league then announced Dillon Brooks Suspended for one game after reaching the 16 technical foul limit this season.

There were already many fears. I am Morant he was sued after allegedly hitting a 17-year-old boy more than a dozen times and pointing a gun at him over the summer (charges he denies). A few days before this incident, Morant and his friends contacted security at a Memphis mall. This season, Morant and his friends were involved in an argument with a member of the Pacers traveling group. After each incident and report, people close to Morant—the Grizzlies organization, his teammates, his agent—protected him.

Then the last incident happened – Morant is apparently showing off the gun live on Instagram. while at the club on Friday night/Saturday morning, which led the team to announce that the All-Star point guard would be “at least two games away from the team”.

Statement from the Memphis Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/CLB2TG5nnI

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) March 4, 2023

While the Grizzlies don’t call it a disqualification, in practice it is. Morant will not play in the Grizzlies’ road games Sunday against the Clippers and Tuesday against the Lakers.

Morant made this statement through his agent:

“I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I apologize to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis, and the entire organization for letting you down. I’m going to take some time off to get help and work on learning more effective ways to deal with stress and my general well-being.”

Earlier in the day, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement, “We are aware of a social media post involving Ja Morant and we are investigating.” Morant was not charged with anything.

The discipline on the part of the team – and the reaction from the league and social media – stems from a late night/early morning Instagram Live from Morant, where he appears to flash a gun.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant is said to have been showing off the gun on her IG Live this morning.pic.twitter.com/HlhvoWlnYy

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 4, 2023

Morant’s Instagram and Twitter accounts have been deactivated.

League sources told NBC Sports that there were concerns within the Grizzlies about Morant’s off-court selection, and the team’s move to discipline Morant appears to be a continuation of previous attempts to talk about him through it. The case went beyond the “mentoring” stage.

On the court, Morant is one of the most dynamic and interesting players in the league, having played at All-Star level, and maybe the entire NBA, leading the Grizzlies to second place in the West. Morant is averaging 27.1 points and 8.2 assists per game this season, and when Morant is on the court, the team is up 6.6 points per 100 possessions. His dynamic game and unwavering confidence led to the creation of Nike’s signature shoes (released in April) and a major sponsorship with Powerade (a new commercial featuring Morant will be all over the place during the NCAA Tournament). There is a financial risk for him due to the accumulation of incidents.

In the games Morant has missed this season, the Grizzlies have gone 4-5.

The Brooklyn Nets are a little weaker in the middle. Nick Claxton had a fantastic season and started for them, but after that they rely on a second year player Day’Ron Sharp.

Now add Nerlens Noel to that and they’ll sign the free agent that Detroit waived last month to a 10-day contract, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Free agent center Nerlens Noel signs with his Brooklyn Nets agent. @GeorgeLangberg reports ESPN. After completing the purchase with…