Morant stars as Grizzlies deny Curry's Warriors NBA playoffs spot

Los Angeles, May 22: The young Memphis Grizzlies have knocked Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors out of the NBA postseason and claimed the eighth seed in the West with a 114-109 over-time win on Friday (May 22).

The Grizzlies win through to play the Western Conference top seed Utah Jazz, although they blew a 10-point lead with three minutes to go before triumphing in over-time.

Golden State, who were one of the form teams late in the season, miss the playoffs for the second straight season, while the Grizzlies make their first playoffs since 2016-17.

Ja Morant starred with 35 points including two clutch floaters down the stretch, as well as six rebounds and six assists.

The 21-year-old point guard shot 14-from-29 from the field, including five of 10 from beyond the arc.

It was a big turnaround for Morant who shot one-for-six from three-point range in Sunday's 113-101 loss to the Warriors.

But Morant had great support, with Xavier Tillman (11 points and seven rebounds) draining a crucial three-pointer late as center Jonas Valanciunas had nine points and 12 rebounds before fouling out and Desmond Bane added 10 points including a decisive dunk.

BANE DAGGER POSTER 🗡️@DBane0625 | #GrzNxtGen pic.twitter.com/m6KFb8U4IN

— 🙅‍♂️- Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) May 22, 2021

Curry had 39 points for the Warriors, who trailed by 13 at the long interval and looked gone in the last before Draymond Green's back-to-back buckets and Jordan Poole's three put them ahead.

Green finished with 11 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, while Andrew Wiggins added 22 points and 10 rebounds but the Warriors were always playing catch-up.

The Warriors only managed 12-from-34 from three-point range with Curry defended well by Dillon Brooks, shooting six-from-15 from beyond the arc.