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Morant bombed in a career-high five 3-pointers
on a 35-point night for the ninth-seeded Grizzlies, who will
enter the West's main draw in the No. 8 position. They will open
a best-of-seven first-round series on the road against
top-seeded Utah on Sunday.
The season ended for the Warriors, who lost two straight in the
new play-in format, including 103-100 on the road against the
Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.
The Warriors, who rallied from a late 10-point deficit to force
the extra session, took a 109-107 lead on a 3-pointer by Jordan
Poole with 1:50 to go in overtime.
But Tillman, with no choice but to shoot from the left corner as
the shot clock was about to expire, drilled his critical
3-pointer that gave Memphis the lead for good with 1:27 left.
Morant then hit the game's next two hoops, extending the Memphis
lead to three and then to five with similar 10-footers in the
lane.
The second of the two put the Grizzlies up 114-109 with just 4.5
seconds left, and Memphis was able to hold on despite Poole
hitting another 3-pointer.
Morant, who had never previously made more than four 3-pointers
in a game, finished 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. Memphis
outscored Golden State 45-36 from deep, overcoming six
3-pointers and a game-high 39 points from Stephen Curry.
The Grizzlies, who had lost 113-101 at Golden State last Sunday
to enter the play-in tournament as a lower seed, appeared on
their way to a regulation win, leading 95-85 after a Jonas
Valanciunas hoop with 3:36 to go.
But Poole ignited a desperation Golden State flurry with a
three-point play with 3:18 to go, and when Curry capped a 12-2
run with two foul shots, the Warriors had drawn even with 1:12
to go.
Still tied with less than a half-minute remaining, both teams
had a shot to win in regulation, but Tillman misfired on a
3-pointer for the Grizzlies before Draymond Green couldn't
connect on a buzzer-beating, 11-foot runner for the Warriors.
Dillon Brooks (14), Grayson Allen (12), Tillman (11), Jaren
Jackson Jr. (10) and Desmond Bane (10) also scored in double
figures for Memphis, which won despite getting just nine points
from Valanciunas, who fouled out after playing just 26 minutes
and grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins had 22 points, Poole 19, Green 11 as part of a
triple-double with 16 rebounds and 10 assists, and Kent Bazemore
10 for Golden State, which trailed by as many as 17 points in
the first half.
--Field Level Media
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