The Golden State Warriors have officially secured the seventh-seed in the Western Conference, staving off a second-half fightback from the Memphis Grizzlies to record a 121-116 Play-In Tournament victory at Chase Center on Tuesday night.
Having acquired Jimmy Butler to try and turnaround a stumbling season in early February, the Warriors got the ultimate dividens of that blockbuster trade as the 6x All-Star produced his biggest game for the franchise yet.
Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry combined for 75 points against the Grizzlies
Butler did absolutely everything for the Warriors in the first-half, having gone for 21 points, four rebounds and four assists as the hosts led by much as 20 mid-way through the second-quarter.
After going for his franchise-best 30 points against the L.A. Clippers on Sunday, Butler easily eclipsed that as Golden State fans got their first real taste of 'Playoff Jimmy'. The veteran forward finished with 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals on 12-of-20 shooting in 40 minutes of playing time.
The only thing Butler didn't do was capitalize at the free-throw line, having uncharacteristically missed six of his 18 attempts in what nearly came back to cost the Warriors. Despite threatening to do so, Golden State never landed a knockout punch as Memphis came storming back to take the lead in the fourth-quarter.
But after Butler had led the Warriors through the first three-quarters, it was time for Stephen Curry to take over in the fourth to clinch his team a playoff berth. Curry had a pair of huge threes in the final two minutes, including a patient dagger with 60 seconds to play that extended the lead to six.
A series of questionable officiating calls caused plenty of anxious moments as the Grizzlies pulled within one, but Curry's free-throw shooting sealed victory as the 2x MVP went a perfect 13-of-13 from the line on his way to 37 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
This was exactly what the Warriors envisioned when they traded for Butler, with the two-headed monster of he and Curry powering the team to victory despite getting little from others in the second-half.
Gary Payton II and Quinten Post were both big factors off the bench in the first-half, with the latter drilling a series of threes on his way to 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes. Steve Kerr went largely to a seven-man rotation as Kevon Looney, Buddy Hield and Gui Santos all played limited minutes, while Jonathan Kuminga was once again left out entirely.
Draymond Green had four points, six rebounds and 10 assists but fouled out in the final minute, while Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski combined for just 12 points on 2-of-9 3-point shooting as the other two starters.
The Warriors will now crucially get a few days off before heading to Houston to face the Rockets in Game 1 of their first-round series at Toyota Center on Sunday.
