Morant, Memphis rally late to beat Minnesota
Ja Morant scored on a layup with a second left, and the host Memphis Grizzlies rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to edge the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-109 on Tuesday night and grab a 3-2 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.
Morant, named the NBA’s most improved player on Monday, struggled mightily much of the game. But he turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 18 points — including nine of 10 at the free-throw line.
Morant came from the low post as the Grizzlies inbounded the ball with 3.7 seconds left and lost Anthony Edwards at the top of the key. That left him an open lane into the paint that he’s so rarely had in this series, beating Jarred Vanderbilt with his left hand on an underhanded layup.
Morant finished with 30 and had 13 rebounds and nine assists. Desmond Bane
added 25 points, and Brandon Clarke had 21 off the bench for Memphis, and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 12 before fouling out.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Edwards had 22, and D’Angelo Russell added 12 and Taurean Prince 10.
at Miami 97, Atlanta 94: Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Heat moved into the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Tyler Herro scored 16, Max Strus scored 15 and Caleb Martin added 10 for the top-seeded Heat, who ousted the eighth-seeded Hawks in five games. And Miami got the seriesclincher without Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, both of whom sat out Tuesday with injuries.
at Phoenix 112, New Orleans 97: Mikal Bridges, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton combined for 72 points as the Suns took a 3-2 lead in the series with the Pelicans. The Suns led by 12 points after the first period and never looked back.
LaVine in protocols
The Chicago Bulls might be without Zach LaVine when they try to avoid a playoff knockout by the Milwaukee Bucks after the twotime All-Star entered the health and safety protocols.