Ja Morant gets first signature win, Grizzlies defeat Warriors

Grizzlies Warriors
Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies came out hot as the underdog against the Golden State Warriors. Ja Morant and company put up a great effort through the first half to take a solid lead. This battle between Morant and Steph Curry was one for the books. The 2020 Rookie of the Year against a former MVP, Curry, who is a finalist for MVP this season as well. With a chance at the playoffs on the line, both teams put up valiant efforts.

Morant got his team going in the first half with his playmaking and scoring. The Warriors were not so keen on keeping the ball in their own hands. They had quite a few turnovers that weren’t present in previous games. Draymond Green couldn’t get going in the first half on either side of the ball either.

Curry started to get his game going fairly early. He commanded a lot of attention from the Grizzlies defense. As he should, he is a threat from anywhere on the court.


Warriors fan-favorite Juan Toscano-Anderson brought the energy and effort on the offensive end. Andrew Wiggins contributed on offense quite a bit for the Warriors along with Kent Bazemore. Once Green found a rhythm on the court, the Warriors started to bring in rebounds as well.

While Memphis had a 62-49 point lead going into the half, the Warriors wouldn’t rollover. They kept chipping away at the double-digit lead and Steph Curry started to do what Steph Curry does.

The former unanimous MVP brought his team back into the game. While the Grizzlies got through the scoring runs by being tough and physical, they also relied on those Golden State turnovers.

Ja Morant can also do things like this on offense which helps the Grizzlies quite a bit.

After three quarters, Curry had 26 points on 9-22 from the field and Morant had 20 points. Both had hit a handful of shots from three as well. One quarter away from delivering Memphis one of their biggest wins in the history of the organization. But the Warriors just wouldn’t go away.

With 1:12 left in the game, Curry drove to the basket and drew the foul on Jonas Valanciunas, fouling him out of the game. Vlanciunas finished with 9 points and 12 rebounds. He was huge for the Grizzlies. Curry took the Warriors from a 95-97 deficit to tying the game at 97. He is the best free-throw shooter in NBA history after all.

Morant would play off the ball the next play with Kyle Anderson handling the ball. Anderson would get crafty and draw the foul on Steph. That would be his fifth. Season on the line, Anderson hit both of his shots as well. Grizzlies up 99-97 with under a minute to go.

The Warriors would move the ball around the court in a flurry to get a Wiggins tip-in layup and tie the game.

The Grizzlies would have a shot clock violation with just 9.2 to go. No fouls to give for Memphis. A pass to Green, a shot…OVERTIME!

With just under four minutes to go in overtime, Curry would hit a go-ahead bucket to put the Warriors up 103-101, their first lead since 27-26 in the first quarter. Grayson Allen would respond with back-to-back threes to put the Grizzlies up four. Three minutes to go.

Draymond Green answered with his own three! 107-106 Memphis. This game really had it all, the drama and action of a real playoff game. Jordan Poole pulled back with under 2:00 to go and hit a huge three to give Golden State a two-point lead. 109-107. Morant threw a dime to Xavier Tillman on the wing to respond and Memphis went back up 110-109!

Morant would spread the lead to three with a floater and the Warriors were looking at a 112-109 deficit with just 47 seconds to go. The 21-year-old point guard showed a lot of maturity and calm throughout the game. Even in the fast-paced NBA, the game seems to slowly move in front of him, always controlling his own pace.

With Toscano-Anderson guarding, Morant ate. With a quick crossover and spin into the paint, he floated another shot into the basket and pushed the lead to 5 points with 4.5 seconds to go. The dagger had been set in Golden State’s heart. Fans soon started to head for the exits.

Desmond Bane would throw down a huge dunk and draw the foul to seal the game for Memphis. 117-112 final score.

Curry finished with 39 points 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Ja Morant, the man of the night finished the game with 35 points and 6 apiece in assists and rebounds. The Grizzlies would outshoot the Warriors from three with 15/35 compared to 12/34. While the Warriors would hit more field goals overall at a high clip, free throws were big in this game. 21/25 for Memphis compared to 16/20.

Memphis will play the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.

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