Warriors, Bucks win series openers
Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, and the Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s first-half ejection to edge the Grizzlies 117-116 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday in Memphis, Tennessee.
Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 31 points off the bench, hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers. Stephen Curry added 24 points, Andrew Wiggins had 17 and Thompson finished with 15.
Green was ejected for a flagrant foul just before halftime.
Thompson missed both free throws with 6.7 seconds left, then the Grizzlies won a jump ball before taking a timeout with 3.6 seconds remaining to set up the final play. The Grizzlies ran a play similar to Ja Morant’s last-second layup to win Game 5 in the first round, but this time Morant’s layup went over the rim.
Morant finished with 34 points and 10 assists, and Jaren Jackson Jr. matched his season high with six 3-pointers and had a career-high 33 points as the Grizzlies’ first pair of teammates to score at least 30 in a playoff game. D’Anthony Melton added 14, and Brandon Clarke had 12.
The Grizzlies finished their first-round series by coming back from double-digit deficits in their final three wins — the first team in NBA history to do that more than once in a postseason, let alone a series. They came in leading the NBA in the fourth with an average of 33 points and outscoring opponents by 10.3 points a game.
This time, they could only match the Warriors point for point in the period.
The Grizzlies edged the Warriors out for the No. 2 seed in the West by tying the franchise record with 56 wins, and the Grizzlies also took three of four in their season series. Thompson only played one and Green two of those games and Curry three.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Memphis.
Champs take Game 1 vs. Celtics: Giannis Antetokounmpo had his second career postseason triple-double, scoring 24 points with 13 rebounds and 12 assists Sunday to lead the Bucks to a 101-89 road victory over the Celtics in Game 1 of Eastern Conference semifinals.
Jrue Holiday had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the defending NBA champions, and Bobby Portis had 15 points and 11 boards to help the third-seeded Bucks swipe the home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series. Game 2 is Tuesday night in Boston.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and Jaylen Brown had 12, but the two Celtics stars combined to shoot 10-for-31 in the game.
After shutting down Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a four-game sweep of the Nets, the second-seeded Celtics couldn’t stop Antetokounmpo — even with defensive player of the year Marcus Smart shaking off a shoulder injury.
The two-time NBA MVP scored eight straight Bucks points at the end of the first half to take a double-digit lead into the break. The Celtics were within seven in the final minute of the third quarter before going without a bucket for more than four minutes while the Bucks scored 11 of the next 14 points to open a 17-point lead.
Positive signs for 76ers, Embiid? There’s growing optimism amon the 76ers that injured All-Star big man Joel Embiid may be able to return by Game 3 or 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal against the top-seeded Heat, ESPN reported Sunday.
Embiid will not travel for Games 1 and 2 in Miami because of an orbital fracture and concussion, but he will be re-evaluated Wednesday in hopes of getting a green light to play Friday when the series shifts to Philadelphia.