Jimmy Butler scored 38 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists, creating opportunities on both ends of the court, as the Golden State Warriors secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 on Tuesday.
PUBLICIDAD
Stephen Curry scored 37 points for the Warriors in this play-in tournament game.
PUBLICIDAD
But the one who shone the most was “Playoff Jimmy” on the big stage, which relieved the pressure on Curry, who made a three-pointer from the baseline with 1:50 to play and another one from the left wing with one minute on the clock.
Golden State is now heading to a best-of-seven series in the first round against the Rockets, starting on Sunday in Houston.
After a couple of free throws by Curry with 5.4 seconds remaining, the Grizzlies had one last chance, but Spanish player Santi Aldama couldn’t pass the ball before a five-second violation.
Desmond Bane scored 30 points and Ja Morant 22 for Memphis, who will return home to host the winner of the Mavericks-Kings matchup, scheduled for Wednesday night in Sacramento.
The winner of that last duel in the mini-tournament will secure the eighth spot in the playoffs.
With the Grizzlies on a winning streak in the middle of the third quarter, Butler regained momentum thanks to a steal and a dunk. He made 12 out of 20 shots in his second consecutive 30-point game and achieved his highest-scoring game since joining the Warriors at the trade deadline.
He converted 12 out of 18 free throws, after making 63 out of 68 from the line in the previous eight games in April.
Morant fell awkwardly, twisting his right ankle when he stepped on Buddy Hield’s foot, and was fouled by Quinten Post with 4:25 remaining in the third quarter. However, he got up and made the three-point play to bring the Grizzlies closer at 82-81.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 18 points, while Zach Edey contributed with 14 points, 17 rebounds, and made two free throws with 14.3 seconds remaining.