The Phoenix Suns were defeated 120-118 by the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. The game between the two Western Conference teams was very aggressive, especially between Kevin Durant and rookie Cam Spencer. After Spence insulted Durant during their early fight, the referee called a double technical foul in the third period.
Additionally, KD had a few words against Desmond Bane during the sequence. The moment KD had with the rookie and Bane went viral, catching the attention of former NBA star Paul Pierce. On Tuesday, Pierce addressed the incident between the two-time champion and the other players on the Memphis team on the show “Speak Up.”
The one-time Finals MVP said that younger players wouldn’t have the courage to talk trash to him the way they did to Durant.
“This would’ve never happened to me,” Paul started. “Just the demeanor I displayed on the court, and how I presented myself as a human being, if a guy off the bench who don’t play come to me after that… there would’ve been some fireworks.”
"This would've never happened to me."@paulpierce34 reacts to Grizzlies' rookie Cam Spencer trash-talking Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/RRLJSTETn7
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) March 12, 2025
Pierce went on to say that players like Spencer wouldn’t have the guts to approach him.
The Grizzlies rookie talked about his altercation with the Phoenix Suns star
After the game, everyone was eager to interview Spencer about his interaction with the 15-time All-Star. The 6-foot-4 guard opened up after his 16-point performance off the bench.
“When you’re going to war, you know, as a competitor, you don’t really care who’s on the other side of the floor,” Spencer said. “Obviously, I have a lot of respect for for KD and what he’s done, but…”
In just his 13th NBA game, Cam Spencer put himself on the map by scoring 16 points and…talking an absurd amount of trash to one of the all-time greats, Kevin Durant:
"I'm going to war with my guys any day of the week…it's life or death to me."
The man of the hour ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/e9rCGAFI77
— Matt Infield (@Matt_Infield) March 11, 2025
“Again, my focus is on the team and winning. That’s really all I care about. You know, that’s what our job is. And you know, it’s life or death to me.”
The media asked the former UConn guard what he said to KD. However, the Grizzlies rookie decided not to share it, saying the exchange was too inappropriate to say to the media.
“Nah, that stays on the court,” Spencer said. “Not good for TV.”
His teammates, on the other hand, were impressed with how he stood up for himself. All-Star guard Ja Morant spoke highly of the rookie’s toughness on the court, not backing down against a veteran star.
“That’s not new to us, man, we know Cam, so we wasn’t surprised at all,” Memphis star Ja Morant said after the game. “We was actually excited that, you know, he actually got going, because he, we know what type of player and energy he can, you know, bring for us, and, you know, help us out there on the floor. So that was a great moment for us.”
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
