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The eighth-seeded Warriors and ninth-seeded Grizzlies put on an
entertaining show in the inaugural NBA play-in tournament grand
finale in May, with Memphis getting two late hoops from Ja
Morant to pull out a 117-112 overtime victory.
The win sent Memphis on to face the West's top-seeded team, the
Utah Jazz, in the first round of the playoffs, with the
Grizzlies falling 4-1.
Golden State, meanwhile, started planning ahead for 2021-22, a
season in which it already is off to a historic start. Not only
are the Warriors 4-0, but each win has come despite a halftime
deficit, a season-opening feat accomplished just once previously
in NBA history, that by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1985-86.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr has no hard feelings about the way
his team's season ended almost six months ago.
"Obviously a crushing way to go out. Two straight games that
were basically gut punches," he said of losing to the Los
Angeles Lakers before meeting up with the Grizzlies. "(The
finale) felt like a Finals game. It was so much fun. That's what
this is all about: Competition at the highest level."
It would have been more fun had Draymond Green hit an 11-foot
floater at the end of regulation. The shot missed, setting the
stage for an additional five minutes and the two
difference-making baskets by Morant that capped a 35-point
night.
The win for the Grizzlies came five days after they had lost on
the same floor 113-101 with the eighth seed at stake in the
play-in tournament. Stephen Curry bombed in 46 points in that
one.
Hounded by Dillon Brooks, Curry was "held" to 39 in the rematch
while committing seven of Golden State's 21 turnovers.
Curry won't see Brooks in this rematch after the defensive ace
sustained a broken left hand at practice last month. The
Grizzlies hope to get him back early next month.
In the meantime, Memphis has slipped near the bottom of the
NBA's defensive rankings. The Grizzlies were scorched for 121,
114 and 121 points in their first three games. Then Wednesday,
the host Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a six-point
halftime deficit with a 65-point, second-half explosion to
emerge with a 116-96 win.
On the front end of a back-to-back set -- the second on Memphis'
four-game Western swing -- Morant helped give the Grizzlies
their early upper hand. He finished with 17 points, 10 assists
and nine rebounds, and he also committed nine turnovers.
The effort came in the wake of a missed free throw late in a
Sunday defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers when the Grizzlies had a
chance to tie, a miscue for which he was quickly forgiven.
"That's our leader. That's our guy. We're going to war with
him," Grizzlies swingman Desmond Bane said. "We have his back
through everything."
In a matchup of Morant and Curry, the Warriors' biggest
advantage could be their depth. Golden State's reserves have
outscored the opposition 153-121 this season, whereas Memphis'
backups have been outscored 158-116.
--Field Level Media
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