Last-minute shot boosts Warriors past Memphis
Green’s ejection can’t derail rally by Golden State
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ja Morant and Memphis have shown they can finish fourth quarters this postseason.
Well, Golden State has been doing it for years, with the championships to prove it.
Klay Thompson hit a goahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds
SUNDAY’S NBA GAMES
left, and the third-seeded Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s first-half ejection to edge the second-seeded Grizzlies 117-116 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
“The core, we’ve got championship DNA, and we wanted to utilize that,” Golden State guard Stephen Curry said. “At this stage, that’s what it’s all about. Never let go of the rope in terms of feeling like you’re out of a game. Big win for us.”
Jordan Poole led the Warriors with a career-high 31 points off the bench, hitting a playoff-best 5 of 10 3-pointers. Curry added 24 points, Andrew Wiggins 17 and Thompson 15.
Green was ejected for a flagrant foul just before halftime.
“We knew that was a tough break that didn’t go our way, and we were all kind of shocked by the decision, but we were confident and determined and the guys stayed with it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
Thompson missed two free throws with 6.7 seconds left, and then Memphis won a jump ball before a timeout with 3.6 seconds remaining to set up the final play. The Grizzlies ran a play similar to Morant’s last-second layup to win Game 5 in the first round, but Morant’s layup went off the backboard and over the rim.
Thompson helped defend
Morant on the final drive, picking up when Gary Payton II was beaten. Thompson called it a “gut-check win” for a team that’s been through so much the past couple of years with injuries and missing the playoffs.
Morant had 34 points and 10 assists, and Jaren Jackson Jr. matched his season high with six 3-pointers and totaled a career-high 33 points as Memphis’ first pair of teammates to score at least 30 in a playoff game. D’anthony Melton added 14 points and Brandon Clarke 12.
■ Bucks 101, Celtics 89: At Boston, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in his second career postseason triple-double for third-seeded Milwaukee in the series opener.
Jrue Holiday had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Bobby Portis 15 points and 11 rebounds for the defending NBA champion Bucks, who led 56-46 at halftime.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and Jaylen Brown 12 for second-seeded Boston, with the
duo combining to miss 21 of 31 shots. Al Horford had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics.
After shutting down perennial All-stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a four-game sweep of Brooklyn, Boston didn’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 Milwaukee points at the end of the first half. The Celtics were within seven in the third quarter’s final minute 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.
The Celtics led by as many as eight before the Bucks scored the last 10 points of the first quarter.
Boston won 26 of its last 32 regular-season games and was the lone team to sweep its firstround playoff series. Milwaukee advanced by beating Chicago in five games.