Jonas Valanciunas dominated for the Memphis’ win

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Play-in Tournament for the Western Conference started tonight as No.9 seed Memphis Grizzlies hosted No.10 seed, San Antonio Spurs at FedEx Forum.

The Grizzlies defeated the Spurs 100-96 eliminating them from the playoffs contention.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies keep their hopes for the playoff alive after the win.

And now they will face the Golden State Warriors for the final match of the play-in tournament for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

Jonas Valanciunas and Dillon Brooks scored big for the Grizzlies’ win over the Spurs.

Valanciunas even become the first player to post 20 plus points and 20 plus rebounds in franchise history.

They took the early lead over the Spurs and dominated them for most of the quarters and ultimately defeating them in the final quarter.

Memphis dominant first quarter.

Dejounte Murray stole the ball from Ja Morant and dunked on the other end opening the night for the Spurs.

Then Jonas Valanciunas dropped the jumper for the Grizzlies tying the game with 10:54 left in the first quarter.

Jaren Jackson Jr. snatched the ball from Jakob Poelti and laid it in on the other side giving the Memphis lead over the Spurs.

However, Keldon Johnson dropped a jumper tying the game 4-4.

Dillon Brooks then knocked down a jumper answering right back and took the lead back.

Jaren Jackson hits a three-pointer giving the Grizzlies a five-point lead.

Soon the lead extended to 7 points with 8:54 remaining in the quarter.

Valanciunas dropped another bucket and Jaren Jackson Jr. dropped a three-pointer giving Memphis another bucket. 

They continued to dominate over the Spurs.

Brooks drove straight into the rim and dunked the ball giving a 14 point lead.

Keldon Johnson finally made a bucket for the Spurs 

However, Ja Morant hit a three-pointer and Valaciunas made a bucket on Morant’s pass.

The Grizzlies continued their dominance again as Brooks hit another jumper. 

The Spurs finally found a breakthrough with Lonnie Walker’s layup and Rudy Gay’s three-pointer but still not good enough as Memphis continued to make buckets.

De’Anthony Melton blocked Devin Vassell shot likewise Kyle Anderson blocked Desmond Bane but Murray then finally made the layup for the Spurs.

Rudy hits another three-pointer with a minute remaining for the quarter and another bucket with 7.8 seconds remaining.

Despite last minutes effort from the Spurs, the Grizzlies take 19 point lead at the end of the quarter.

The Spurs cut the lead.

Grizzlies enter the quarter 19-38 with a 19 point advantage over the Spurs.

The Spurs made the first bucket cutting the lead to 16 points.

They were 24-41 with 10:00 remaining in the quarter.

Poeltl drops a layup bringing the game within 11 points. Patty Mills drops a deep three-pointer.

The Spurs continued their 15-0 run Keldon dropping a bucket cutting the lead to 2 points before Ja Morant dunked it on the other end.

They were 44-45 halfway into the quarter.

But the Grizzlies quickly extended their lead 43-51 with under three minutes remaining to play.

Rudy Gay then made a jumper and the lead cut to 4 points with 2:14 remaining for halftime.

 Poeltl blocked Ja Morant and on the other end, Kyle Anderson blocked Keldon.

This gave Desmond Bane a bucket extending the lead for Memphis.

Keldon tipped off Poeltl miss with about a minute left to play in the half.

Morant dropped a three-pointer with 41.7 seconds remaining and the quarter ends 49-56.

The Grizzlies continued dominance.

DeMar DeRozan starts the third quarter with a jumper from a free-throw line.

Walker then hits a left-handed layup cutting the lead within three points with 10:21 remaining in the quarter.

Anderson then drew a foul making a layup extending the lead for the Grizzlies.

The Spurs trailed the Grizzlies by 5 points halfway into the quarter and Valanciunas then extended the lead for the Grizzlies.

Morant then drove straight to the rim dropping another bucket 9 point lead.

They were 61-68 when Rudy dropped a jumper with 4:45 remaining in the quarter.

The Grizzlies continued to move away every time the Spurs cut the lead.

As they took a five-point lead and Valanciunas extended the lead with a jumper.

DeRozan then dropped a layup cutting the lead to five points and Morant made a jumper to answer back.

The quarter ended 65-72 with the Grizzlies in the lead.

The Grizzlies take the win in the end.

Soon the Grizzlies took 10 point lead with Tyus Jones hitting a three-pointer with 10:29 remaining in the quarter.

Gorgui Dieng drew a foul after dropping the bucket and he then dropped a three-pointer that cut the lead to six points for the Spurs.

Rudy’s jumper from inside the three-point line gave the Spurs another bucket.

And Mills three-pointer brought the Spurs within a point.

DeRozan’s jumper gave the Spurs lead after trailing the Grizzlies throughout the game early on.

Brooks then hit a jumper taking the lead right back with 7:13 remaining in the quarter.

Johnson dropped a three-pointer taking the lead for the Spurs again.

Both tied at the half in the final quarter.

Subsequently, Brooks made a jumper tying the game 83-83 halfway into the quarter.

He again gets another bucket for the lead.

DeRozan drove to the bucket but Valanciunas blocked him maintaining the lead.

They were 87-89 with 3:53 remaining in the quarter.

Anderson hits a three-pointer subsequently taking a five-point lead.

Valanciunas scooped in a layup extending the lead 87-94.

Rudy Gay then hits a three-pointer for the Spurs and came within four points with 2:45 remaining in the quarter.

Morant hits a three-pointer but misses however Desmond laid it in extending the lead 90-98 with a minute and a half remaining to play.

DeRozan answers back with a jumper and Rudy Gay then hits a three-pointer in the next possession.

They were 96-99 with 8.0 seconds remaining as Morant dropped a free-throw ending the game 96-100.

Scoring highlights:

Jonas Valanciunas and Dillon Brooks led the Grizzlies past the Spurs keeping the playoff hopes alive.

Dillon Brooks led the bench scoring 24 points along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

While Jonas led the starters as he grabbed 23 points and 23 rebounds double-double along with an assist.

He becomes the first player in the Memphis Grizzlies franchise history to post 20+ points and 20+ rebounds through three quarters in a regular-season or postseason game.

“Those two guys were big-time for us tonight,” Grizzlies star Ja Morant told reporters.

“A lot of credit to everyone on our team. We all got it done, but … [Valanciunas] locked down the paint for us tonight, and then DB — tonight gave him another case to be on the All-Defensive team.”

Likewise, Ja Morant hit 20 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds.

“We plan to pack for a three-game road trip,” added Morant, making Memphis’ intentions clear.

While Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 10 points along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

“It was amazing. There’s really nothing like it,” Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. told reporters after the game. “Especially early on, you feel that energy from the crowd, you see the towels in the crowd, it kind of reminds you of the old Grindhouse days. It was just very surreal. You can’t really put it into words.”

Now with the win, Memphis faces the Golden State Warriors who lost to LA Lakers 103-100.

“We still have one more in front of us (that’s) really important. The same importance as (Wednesday),” Valanciunas said. “It’s going to do or die but that’s how we build our confidence, that’s how we build our experience. We’re a young team playing for something and those games are really important for us.”

Spurs put on a fight but not enough for the win.

On the other hand, the Spurs fell behind 19 points early in the game.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said simply, “We got our ass kicked in the first quarter.” Eighteen of Memphis’ 38 points in the frame came in the paint.

But they did a great job in the latter half.

As they even took the lead halfway into the fourth quarter before ultimately losing to the Grizzlies.

DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs scoring 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists while Keldon Johnson grabbed 11 points and 11 rebounds double-double.

Followed by Dejounte Murray who grabbed the only triple-double of the game scoring 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.

While Jakob Poeltl dropped a 10 points and 10 rebounds double-double along with 2 assists.

Likewise, Rudy Gay scored 20 points and 7 rebounds and led the Spurs bench.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said simply, “We got our ass kicked in the first quarter.” Eighteen of Memphis’ 38 points in the frame came in the paint.

Bikram Jirel
Bikram Jirel

Bikram Jirel

Bikram Jirel is a versatile editor and writer with a deep-seated passion for sports and storytelling. With a keen understanding of audience preferences and trends, he crafts compelling narratives that captivate readers and offer unique perspectives on the world of sports.

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