With their season on the line, the Warriors and Grizzlies showed up to play on Friday, engaging in a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire battle.
In the end, the powers of Ja Morant were just too much for the short-handed Warriors, and the Grizzlies were able to pull away in the end with the close victory.
The Grizzlies knock the Warriors out of the play-in tournament. pic.twitter.com/Xdu2JtMRGo
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 22, 2021
No doubt, this match was another candidate for the game of the year, and is yet more evidence as to the intensity the play-in tournament brings.
The big story was the point guard battle between Ja (35 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) and Steph (39 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists), who are clearly some of the best at their position in basketball.
But, with Steph and his Dubs now officially out of the playoffs, it seems that their next chapter will have to continue next season. For Memphis, they will look ahead to their first-round matchup against the Utah Jazz.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, fans have been particularly brutal in their reactions, flaming the Warriors for blowing their play-in games.
Steph gave it his all. pic.twitter.com/NAsBhp7Wpg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 22, 2021
warriors fans ain’t want to stick around to see the last second of steph in golden state?
— Dillon Saks (@SenorFavio) May 22, 2021
Golden State Warriors, OUT of the NBA Playoffs! pic.twitter.com/TtxgtJPXHT
— Miguel L. Sanchez (@SanchezML94) May 22, 2021
So the warriors got two players that are a MVP and a DPOY finalists and still can’t make the playoffs pic.twitter.com/oLo6k4JVol
— Mere (@Mere_300) May 22, 2021
Steph Curry when he see Ja Morant after the game:#Warriors #Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/bNY56Uo68x
— Jay Shah (@TheJayShah3) May 22, 2021
NBA: “You coming to the playoffs?”
Warriors: https://t.co/RNvuAhlGyK
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) May 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/NOTORIOUSON3/status/1395951457342529544
Warriors fans are in Spain but the S is silent pic.twitter.com/P6Dnd25UtL
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) May 22, 2021
The Golden State Warriors have missed the playoffs two seasons in a row. pic.twitter.com/MptyTdjA7X
— Brandon Rahbar (@BrandonRahbar) May 22, 2021
It will be interesting to see what’s in store for both teams in the future.
Can Memphis make any noise against Utah? How will the Warriors bounce back from this devastating loss?
A lot of questions remain about these Western competitors, and it looks like we’ll just have to wait and see for ourselves how it works out.
