TENNESSEE – Ja Morant carried Memphis Grizzlies to his shoulders in the endgame to eke out a 106-101 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference series on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the FedExForum in Memphis.
Trailing 93-97 with over three minutes left, Morant scored on a layup before converting a three-pointer from the top to give the Grizzlies a 98-97 advantage.
The Warriors regained the lead at 99-98 on a Stephen Curry layup but an inside basket by Morant followed by two free throws regained Grizzlies the lead at 102-99.
Golden State cut it to 101-102 on a Draymond Green quickly increased it to 104-101. After a turnover by Warriors’ Klay Thompson, Morant sealed the win for Memphis with two free throws.
Morant finished the match with 47 points, including five triples, to go with eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals as the Grizzlies tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
Zairie Williams chipped in 14 markers, with four three-point baskets, while Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke also ended up with double-digits offense with 12 and 10, respectively.
Curry finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Jordan Poole added 20 markers, while Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson ended up with 16 and 12 for the Warriors.
Boston Celtics, meanwhile, leaned on a strong start to defeat Milwaukee Bucks, 109-86, in Game 2 of their NBA Eastern Conference semifinals series at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum caught fire on the offensive in the opening half as they surged to a 32-21 lead, which later grew to 65-40 just before the halftime break.
The defending champions Bucks tried to claw its way back in the second half but the Celtics got some much-needed baskets from Grant Williams to seal the win.
Brown finished the game with 30 points, including six triples, while Tatum and Williams chipped in 29 and 21 markers, respectively, as the Celtics tied the series at 1-1.
BOX SCORE:
MEMPHIS 106 — Morant 47, Williams 14, Jackson 12, Clarke 10, Tillman 7, Bane 5, Anderson 5, Jones 3, Melton 3, Brooks 0, Konchar 0.
GOLDEN STATE 101 — Curry 27, Poole 20, Wiggins 16, Thompson 12, Kuminga 9, Green 6, Porter 4, Looney 4, Lee 2, Payton 1, Toscano-Anderson 0.
Quarterscores: 33-25, 56-51, 77-77, 106-101./PN
