Los Angeles Lakers forward Markieff Morris (88) makes a pass in front of Miami Heat's Kelly Olynyk (9) during the first half of Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Former Kansas forward Markieff Morris filled his typical playoff role on Friday night in helping the Los Angeles Lakers build a 2-0 lead over Miami in the NBA Finals in Orlando.
In 16 minutes off the bench, the 6-foot-8 forward from Philadelphia scored 6 points on 2-of-5 shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds to go along with 2 assists and 3 fouls in the Lakers’ 124-114 win.
Morris has now played in all 17 of the Lakers playoff games. He is averaging just over 17 minutes per game and is vying to become the 13th former Jayhawks to win an NBA title.
The former lottery pick who was signed by Los Angeles in February after starting the season and playing 44 games with Detroit is shooting 49.3% from the floor and 44.7% from 3-point range in the playoffs.
The Lakers and Heat will tip off Game 3 of this year’s Finals at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, when Miami will look to make it a series and the Lakers will attempt to take total control.
A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.
