Two days after losing a game in which they led virtually the entire night, the Warriors nearly pulled off the inverse on Friday night. Instead, their comeback attempt fell just short.
The Grizzlies staved off a furious Golden State rally to win, 117-112, in overtime to advance to the first round of the NBA playoffs. They were able to regain control after blowing a sizable lead in the final minutes of regulation.
Memphis led by as many as 17 points and was up by 10 with under four minutes to play before the Warriors went on a 14-4 run to end the fourth quarter. Golden State led, 109-107, with under two minutes left in overtime when the Grizzlies took the lead on a 3-pointer by Xavier Tillman.
Memphis sealed the win with two stops and two scores by star point guard Ja Morant, whose floater with under five seconds to play gave the Grizzlies a four-point lead.
Morant led the team with 35 points on 14-for-29 shooting and six rebounds, six assists and four steals. He out-dueled Stephen Curry, who followed up his 37-point game against the Lakers on Wednesday with 39 points on 13-for-28 shooting.
The Grizzlies shot 22-for-26 from the free throw line and only turned the ball over 13 times compared to Golden State’s 21.
The Grizzlies will move on to face the top-seeded Jazz in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.
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