The Memphis Grizzlies, once among the Western Conference’s top teams, are facing elimination after a late-season slide culminated in a 112-109 loss to the Warriors in Tuesday’s NBA play-in opener.
Memphis trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half but rallied to within three in the game’s final seconds. The comeback effort came up short, however, when the Grizzlies were unable to inbound the ball on a crucial possession and were called for a five-second violation with 5.2 seconds remaining.
The Grizzlies will now host a win-or-go-home play-in game Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s Sacramento–Dallas matchup. The victor will claim the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and a first-round meeting with the top-seeded Thunder, who finished the regular season with 68 wins.
“It’s just frustrating because of how far we fell,” guard Scotty Pippen Jr. said, via Will Guillory of The Athletic. “I wouldn’t say we were confident in where we were at, but the fall has been pretty hard on the team. … It’s definitely doable, but we put ourselves in this spot.”
Memphis entered the Feb. 8 trade deadline at 35-16, holding a top-five position in the West for over four months. But the Grizzlies closed the regular season on a 13-18 stretch, dropping to sixth place in early April and falling to eighth by April 11.
Adding to the concern, star point guard Ja Morant turned his right ankle in the third quarter of Tuesday’s game when he landed on Golden State guard Buddy Hield’s foot. Though he was clearly limited, Morant played through the injury and confirmed he plans to suit up on Friday.
“I’m playing,” Morant said, via Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. “That’s basically the answer I’m giving. It ain’t nothing different.”
