WASHINGTON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Golden State Warriors rallied hard in the second half to edge past the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals.
Ja Morant of the Grizzlies drove to the basket and missed a left-handed lay-up at the buzzer after Klay Thompson, who finished with 15 points, hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to push the Warriors ahead.
Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 31 points, nine assists and eight rebounds off the bench. Stephen Curry added 24 points and four assists. Draymond Green was ejected before halftime for a flagrant foul as the Warriors trailed by six points into the second half.
But they regrouped and staged a comeback as Curry, who was held to scoreless in the second quarter, scored 13 points and Poole had 10 in the third to lead the Grizzlies 91-90 into the final period.
Morant notched a game-high 34 points along with 10 assists and nine rebounds, and his teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. had a double-double with 33 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat.
Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for his second playoff triple-double, helping the Milwaukee Bucks overwhelm the Boston Celtics 101-89 on the road.
Despite missing Khris Middleton for a sprained left knee ligament, the Bucks' Jrue Holiday contributed enough firepower as he scored a game-high 25 points with nine rebounds, while Bobby Portis added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Celtics had one of its worst offensive performances of this postseason as they shot only 28 of 84 with a playoff-high 18 turnovers. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 21 points, while his teammate Jaylen Brown only added 12 points, shooting four of 13. ■
