Warriors tame Grizzlies to book NBA playoff spot

MANILA, Philippines — The Golden State Warriors seized the seventh seed in the Western Conference after quelling the Memphis Grizzlies, 121-116, in their play-in matchup Wednesday at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Warriors will thus be taking on the second-seeded Houston Rockets in the playoffs, while the Grizzlies will have another shot at advancing.

Memphis will face the winner between the Dallas Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings, and the winner of that matchup will be the No. 8 seed. 

Jimmy Butler top-scored for the Warriors with 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals, but it was Steph Curry who took charge late to help. Golden State grab the win.

Curry finished with 37 points, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter, to go with eight rebounds and four assists.

After trailing by as much as 20 points, the Grizzlies slowly clawed out of the hole and even took the lead.

It was a tight contest down the stretch, with the Warriors leading by just one, 109-108, after a 3-pointer by Desmond Bane.

But a jumper by Butler, as well as a split from the line by rookie Zach Edey, gave the Warriors a two point advantage, 111-109, with 2:29 remaining.

Curry then hit a booming corner triple to push the lead to five, 114-109.

After an Edey putback pulled the Grizzlies to within a single possession, 111-114, Curry hit another triple this time from the wing to give Golden State a 117-111 edge.

Free throws by Bane, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Edey, though, sliced the lead to one, 116-117, with 14.3 seconds left.

Curry, however, made a pair of free throws on the other end.

With 5.4 seconds remaining, Memphis had the chance to tie the game, but Santi Aldama failed to inbound in time.

A pair of Curry free throws iced the game and sealed the Warriors’ play-in win. 

This is Golden State’s first win in the play-in tournament. Prior to this game, they were 0-3.

Aside from Butler and Curry, Gary Payton II and Quinten Post finished in double-digits for the Warriors. The former had 12 points while the latter had 11.

Bane finished with 30 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Grizzlies. Ja Morant, who sat out a chunk of the game due to an ankle injury, backstopped with 22 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Dallas and Sacramento will battle it out for the eighth seed on Thursday (Manila time).