The Memphis Grizzlies made it through the first round of the NBA playoffs and will face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The team around its star Ja Morant turned around again in the final minutes of the game on Friday evening (local time) and defeated the Timberwolves 114:106 in the end. In the third quarter, the hosts were still 13 points ahead, and the 101:99 three minutes before the end was Memphis’ first lead in the second half. The Timberwolves had already collapsed in the previous games.
The best pitcher of the game was young Anthony Edwards for the Timberwolves with 30 points. Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks each had 23 points for the Grizzlies, Morant had 17 points. The second-best team in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies were favorites in the series and now have home field advantage against the Warriors as well. The first duel between the two is on Sunday in Memphis.
The conference semifinals are now complete. In the west, the Dallas Mavericks around national player Maxi Kleber also meet the Phoenix Suns. The two semi-final series in the Eastern Conference are contested by defending champion Milwaukee Bucks against the Boston Celtics with Daniel Theis and the Philadelphia 76ers against the Miami Heat. The 76ers will have to do without their star Joel Embiid for a long time, who suffered a broken eye socket on Thursday and will probably be out for weeks.
The semi-final winners play off the participants in the finals series for the NBA title in the conference finals. In each series, a team needs four wins to prevail.