The Dallas Mavericks season ended Friday night as Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Brandon Williams fell to the Memphis Grizzlies 120-106 at FedEx Forum in Tennessee.
Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Ja Morant combined for 68 points, as they also enjoyed a 16-7 advantage on the offensive boards.
The loss ended Dallas hopes for a good postseason run, a team that was trying to become the NBA‘s first No. 10 seed to advance to the playoffs since the play-in tournament was implemented in 2021. It was an end to a very dissapointing first season of the Mavericks with Anthony Davis on the roster.
Anthony Davis and Ja Morant face each other
During the first quarter of the play-in tournament game, Anthony Davis and Ja Morant engaed in a heated exchange that could have ended up in a fist fight if it wasn’t for the officials that were there to stop the players from getting at each other.
The former Los Angeles Lakers forward/center, who’s 6’10, told the flashy guard – who’s 6 feet even – that he was going to make his night tough by guarding him. “Yeah come on!” Morant replied. “You know I’m right here. You know I ain’t going nowhere. You know I ain’t going nowhere. You know that.” Davis continued.
Individual wise, Davis had a better game: 40 points, 2 assists and 9 rebounds on 37 minutes. AD played through injury as he appeared to re-aggravate his left adductor strain. Morant, on the other hand, had 22 points with 9 assists and seven rebounds on 33 minutes.
The Mavs fight was not good enough for the playoffs
In the first quarter, the Mavs turned the ball over seven times, leading to 11 points for Memphis. Dallas shot just 9-of-20 from the field in the opening quarter, while the Grizzlies were 14-of-25 from the field and toted a 39-24 lead into the second quarter.
It was an uphill battle for the Mavericks for the rest of the game as they didn’t stitch together enough sustained rallies or make enough stops on defense to turn this game around. “We got turnovers and they shot the ball extremely well in that first half,” coach Jason Kidd said.
The Memphis Grizzlies will play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the First Round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs. This will be the fourth playoff series between the Thunder and Grizzlies, who are making their 14th postseason appearance in franchise history.
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