Less than a week after pushing past the Memphis Grizzlies in the regular-season finale, the Golden State Warriors hosted a rematch on Friday at Chase Center with the final spot in the Western Conference postseason on the line.
After Steph Curry blasted the Grizzlies for 46 points in a 113-101 win on Sunday, Friday’s play-in game got off to a different start. The Grizzlies took control, surging to a 13 point lead in the first half.
Despite a bevy of turnovers, the Warriors were able to build a comeback and force overtime behind Curry. The seven-time All-Star guard tallied 39 points on 13-of-28 shooting from the field and 6-of-15 shooting from long distance. However, it wasn’t enough to slow down Ja Morant.
The second-year guard recorded a heroic effort, scoring 35 points on 14-of-29 shooting from the field, including a pair of dagger buckets to close the game in the Grizzlies’ favor, 117-112. In a contest with the season on the line, Morant registered his best shooting night from long-distance, hitting a career-best five 3-pointers on 10 attempts.
As the Grizzlies will move on to face the Utah Jazz in the first round of the postseason, the Warriors’ 2020-21 campaign has come to a close.
Following the Warriors’ sudden end to the season, Twitter exploded with a flurry of reactions. Here is a look at some of the tweets from Friday night after the play-in game.