The Memphis Grizzlies’ nightmare close to the season added another gruesome chapter Tuesday night.
In the Grizzlies’ 121-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference’s first Play-In Game, Memphis forward Santi Aldama failed to inbound the ball with the team trailing by three points with 5.1 seconds left. The Grizzlies were called for a five-second inbound violation, giving the Warriors the ball.
Steph Curry, who had hit two free throws to put the Warriors up three, was fouled on the next play and hit another pair to finish the game.
🗣️ DEFENSE
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 16, 2025
Several factors could have hurt the Grizzlies’ ability to inbound the ball. The Grizzlies were out of timeouts, and star point guard Ja Morant was not moving as well as he usually does because of the ankle injury he sustained in the third quarter. Morant landed on Golden State wing Buddy Hield and sat out seven minutes of game action before returning with more than nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. He was moving with a notable limp.
In the final seconds, the Grizzlies also needed to get a 3-point attempt off, meaning any inbound pass couldn’t go inside the arc, as the Warriors surely would have fouled.
Still, that interim coach Tuomas Iisalo’s team was unable to even get the ball inbounds felt appropriate for the Grizzlies, who fell from second place in the Western Conference to eighth following their Western Conference Play-In Tournament loss. It contrasted sharply with the Grizzlies’ inability to keep Curry from catching the ball on multiple key inbound plays down the stretch.
Memphis went 12-16 after the All-Star break, with only one win against a team that finished in the top six in the standings in their respective conferences.
The free fall resulted in the surprising firing of longtime coach Taylor Jenkins, with Iisalo replacing him. Morant’s “finger guns” and grenade celebrations also created some controversy for the team as they fell in the standings. Now, the Grizzlies will have to win Friday night against the winner of Wednesday’s Sacramento-Dallas game for the right to play the 68-14 Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
(Photo of Tuomas Iasalo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
