Memphis, Apr 20 (BUS): Ja Morant scored 23 points and provided 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked more like the team with the second-best record in the NBA, defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 Tuesday night even into the first round of Western Conference Series at 1 each.
Morant went to the bench leaving 4:40 to a standing ovation. He finished off a timid rebound from the double triple. Desmond Bean and Garen Jackson Jr. added 16 with Jackson scoring 4 of 7 from a 3-point range as the Grizzlies finished in double seven, the AP reports.
Brandon Clark, Xavier Tillman Sr., and Zayer Williams each scored 13. Tice Jones added 10.
Game three Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Anthony Edwards, who scored 36 points in his first game playoff game, led Minnesota with 20 points and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 points and 11 rebounds. Nas Reed and Turian Prince had 12 each off the bench, and D’Angelo Russell added 11.
115 – Abdul Majeed
Miami: Jimmy Butler scored 45 playoff points, including a final 7-0 personal, as the Heat defeated the Hawks in Game Two of the Eastern Conference’s first-round series.
Tyler Hero scored 15 goals for Miami, while Max Strauss scored 14, and Gabe Vincent added 11 for the first-seeded Miami, who took a 2-0 lead over the eighth seed Hawks.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 19 points out of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Atlanta. Tra Young scored 25 for the Hawks, DeAndre Hunter scored 16, and John Collins finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks.
Butler’s previous best 40 performances, done twice, were both in the bubble when the Heat reached the 2020 NBA Finals. The Heat needed all of his championships at the time, and they needed them all on Tuesday as well.
Bogdanovic had a 3-pointer with a 3:15 left over Atlanta in a 104-101 run.
From there, it was all a butler.