Grizzlies Coach Taylor Jenkins Storms Court After Dirty Play By LeBron James

Taylor Jenkins was livid Friday night after LeBron James got away with a dirty play.

The Grizzlies coach stormed onto the court — and narrowly avoided ejection — after LeBron got into a floor tussle with Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr.

The mayhem occurred in the third quarter of the Grizzlies' 127-113 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Marcus Smart attempted to pass the ball to Jackson, who was posting up on James. Jackson was unable to get control of the ball, which caused a battle between the two on the floor.

James ultimately got possession, but in doing so, he appeared to hit Jackson in the face with his elbow.

"I don't know how the official ," the announcer on the broadcast said. "You're standing right there in front of it as LeBron James hits Jaren Jackson Jr. in the face on the floor."

As Jackson laid on the court holding his jaw in pain, Jenkins rushed toward the ref, flailing his arms and screaming. Fellow coaches and players held him back, and officials hit the head coach with a technical foul.

(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Taylor Jenkins Apologizes For Behavior

He chalked up his outburst to the heat of the moment.

"You can't do that, so I take full responsibility there," Jenkins said. "I saw a tussle there, Jaren's clamping LeBron, then I saw something that crossed the line … I had to stand up for my guy.

"I'm glad our guys rallied, obviously got the crowd into it. It was a tie ball game and they took the lead on the technical free throw. But then our guys were just resilient, battling through."

And Jackson was thankful for his coach's support.

"That's my dog," Jackson said. "He's with us in the den, he's with us when it gets hard. I expect nothing less. I already knew what he was on — I could hear him when I was on the ground. At all times, I know he’s got my back."

The Grizzlies, who struggled to begin the season, earned their 12th win of the season while the Lakers fall to 17-19. Despite taking LeBron's elbow shot to the face, Jackson finished the game with 31 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

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