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NBA play-in tournament: Warriors survive Grizzlies behind 75 points from Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry, Magic fend off Hawks
- Jimmy Butler had 38 points and Stephen Curry had 37. So much has been made about how the Butler trade has revitalized the Warriors and that was on full display for a national audience tonight
- The Warriors survive after blowing a 20-point lead and will advance to face the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The Grizzlies will face either the Mavericks or Kings at home for a chance to face the Thunder. That was… certainly a game.
- Oh my god. The Grizzlies, who we will remind you fired their coach a few weeks ago, are going to lose on a five-second violation as Santi Aldama can’t get the ball in. That was a fairly quick whistle, but the end result is Warriors ball and two more free throws for Stephen Curry.
- Stephen Curry gets the inbounds and the foul, then makes both free throws to put the Warriors up three with 5.4 seconds left. Here comes the game for the Grizzlies.
- Granted, the Warriors benefited from some very questionable calls earlier, but this one is bizarre. Kevon Looney got the rebound and ended up getting shoved to the floor by Zach Edey in a chaotic sequence. It’s somehow a foul on Looney, so free throws for Edey.
- 117-116 Warriors with 10.5 seconds left.
- A bad turnover by Jimmy Butler gave Scotty Pippen Jr. a breakaway, but Brandin Podziemski made what looked like a brilliant chasedown block. He’s called for a questionable foul, though, and the Warriors have no challenges remaining.
- Pippen misses a free throw, so it’s Warriors ball up 3 with 36.7 seconds left.
- The Warriors big man picks up his sixth foul and he’s not happy. It’s now on the Warriors to hold onto a six-point lead without their defensive leader. First up: free throws for Desmond Bane.
- An unbelievable shot from the greatest shooter of all time pushes the Warriors’ lead up to 6 with 59.5 seconds left. Poor Scotty Pippen Jr. is going to be seeing Curry’s pump fakes in his nightmares.
- The Warriors were clinging to a two-point lead, then a Stephen Curry corner 3 pushes their lead back to five with less than two minutes left. Zach Edey responded with a putback dunk, but the Warriors still have the advantage in crunch time.
- The Grizzlies star fell into the legs of Warriors big man Quinten Post, with his head hitting Post’s kneecap. He’s going to be in some pain tomorrow.
- The call stands and Green’s reaction is slack-jawed incredulity. Two vitally important big men are a foul away from leaving this game now.
- Draymond Green gets called for what would be his fifth foul on a rebound, but the Warriors are challenging the call. It could be a foul on Edey which could be his sixth and foul him out. Humungous decision coming up for the officials.
- The Warriors star appeared to tweak his thumb on the jersey of Scottie Pippen Jr. and was shaking the hand after a break in play. He’s still in the game, but something to keep an eye on.
- He still doesn’t look right, but the Grizzlies are putting Ja Morant back in the game. Zach Edey also just picked up his fifth foul, and it was a questionable one.
- The Grizzlies have erased what was once a 20-point Warriors lead and even took the lead before Kevon Looney tied it back up. It does not appear Ja Morant is coming back anytime soon, but we have a game here.
- Ja Morant’s still on the bench to start the fourth quarter. He continues to receive treatment on his ankle from a trainer.
- Ja Morant might not be done. He stood by the tunnel talking with trainers as the third quarter wound down. The Warriors will take a 94-91 lead into the fourth. Will Morant be back for a Grizzlies comeback effort?
- Here he is hitting his free throws after sustaining the injury:
- Ja Morant fell awkwardly on Buddy Hield’s foot, rolled his ankle pretty badly and limped off the court. It was reviewed for a flagrant foul on Hield, but it’s ruled a common foul (the contact was fairly incidental). Brutal for the Grizzlies as Morant shoots his free throw visibly in pain, then exits the game.
- Memphis has cut the deficit down to two, but now needs to dig deep.
