Ja Morant shrugged off a sprained right ankle to score 22 points and add nine assists and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-106 on Friday night to advance to the NBA playoffs.
Memphis secured the Western Conference’s eighth seed and will open against top-seeded Oklahoma City in a best-of-seven series beginning Sunday on the Thunder’s home court.
Morant was injured Tuesday night at Golden State in the Grizzlies’ play-in opener and was questionable to play Friday.
“The doctors gave me all the help I needed in the simplest terms,” said Morant, whose availability wasn’t certain until about 30 minutes before tip-off. “I wanted to be on the floor. I wanted to play this game and get the win.”
Jaren Jackson Jr led Memphis with 24 points, and Desmond Bane had 22.
Anthony Davis led Dallas with 40 points and nine rebounds. Klay Thompson had 18 points.
Davis limped off in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a right calf injury. He returned briefly but didn’t finish the game. He sat in the locker room after the game with a wrap and an ice bag on the leg. Davis said he tried to fight through the injury, knowing it was a win or go-home situation.
“We had our chances. Obviously, a tough loss,” Davis said.
Memphis saw a 25-point first-half lead melting away in the third quarter as the Mavericks crafted a 27-12 run spanning halftime. That brought the Mavericks’ deficit to single digits midway through the third.
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