JIMMY Butler III scored 38 points and Stephen Curry added 37 as the Golden State Warriors earned the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 121-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in round on Tuesday night at San Francisco.

"It took 83 games, but we're right where we want to be, which is back in the playoffs," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, "and we've got a chance."

Golden State will face the second-seeded Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, beginning Sunday in Houston. It was the first time the Warriors won a play-in game in four attempts.

"We have a group of guys with a lot of fight," Butler said. "We never gave up, and we did what we're supposed to do, finally."

Curry drained six 3-pointers and hit all 13 of his free-throw attempts to help the Warriors hold off Memphis.

"That's a Batman if I've ever seen a Batman," Butler said of Curry. "Always coming to save the day. You're never out of any game. More than anything, he's so poised and so calm."

The Grizzlies will host either the Sacramento Kings or the Dallas Mavericks on Friday for the No. 8 playoff seed. The Kings and Mavericks play their play-in game on Wednesday night.

Desmond Bane made five treys and scored 30 points for Memphis, and Ja Morant added 22 points despite missing some time in the second half due to an ankle injury. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points, Zach Edey amassed 14 points and 17 rebounds and Santi Alamda also scored 14 for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 20 in the second quarter.

Edey made two free throws with 14.3 seconds left to pull the Grizzlies within 117-116. Curry hit two free throws with 5.4 seconds left to push the lead back to three.

After a timeout, Aldama didn't inbound the ball and was called for a violation. Curry was fouled again with 3.4 seconds left and made both free throws to seal the game.

"Desmond was the first option on that (inbound)," Memphis interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said. "There was a small window for that. I think Jimmy Butler made a small defensive error and (Golden State teammate Kevon) Looney was on top of it and did a good job. ... That was the window to throw the pass, and we didn't - and, after this, they were in perfect position to take out the second options."

Gary Payton II had 12 points and Quinten Post added 11 for Golden State, which shot 45.9 percent, including 15 of 43 (34.9 percent) from 3-point range.

The Grizzlies made 48.8 percent of their attempts -- 12 of 26 (46.2 percent) from behind the arc.

Memphis trailed by 12 at halftime before making a spirited run in the third quarter.

Morant converted a three-point play as Memphis crept within 82-81 with 4:25 remaining in the period, but Morant hurt his right ankle on the play when he landed on Buddy Hield's left foot. After Morant sank the free throw, the Grizzlies fouled on purpose to get Morant out of the game.

Memphis scored the first five points of the final quarter on a 3-pointer by Bane and a hoop by John Konchar to go up 96-94, its first lead since the opening quarter.

Morant returned with the game tied at 96 and 9:26 remaining.

Butler had 21 first-half points and Golden State led 67-55 at the break. Morant had 15 in the half for the Grizzlies.

Curry drained a 3-pointer and converted a four-point play during a 9-0 push as Golden State went up 55-35 with 6:53 left in the half for its largest advantage of the game.

Meanwhile, Cole Anthony scored 13 of his 26 points in a fourth-quarter surge Tuesday night, allowing the Orlando Magic to claim a playoff berth via a 120-95 romp over the visiting Atlanta Hawks in an Eastern Conference play-in game.

Wendell Carter Jr. chipped in with 19 points, Paolo Banchero put up 17 and Anthony Black added to a dominant bench effort with 16 for the Magic, who move on as the seventh seed to a first-round playoff series against the second-seeded Celtics. The best-of-seven set tips off Sunday in Boston.

"That was a big-time team effort. By committee," Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. "These guys all stepped up, did their roles, followed the game plan."

Trae Young went for a game-high 28 points before getting ejected for the eighth-place Hawks, who now return home to face either the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat for the final Eastern playoff spot on Friday night. The winner of that game will draw the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.

After watching the Magic score 18 of the first quarter's final 20 points to go up 32-17, the Hawks, who finished one game behind Orlando in the regular season, clawed back into the game. Atlanta got within three late in the third period and then 79-73 after a George Niang buzzer-beating 3-pointer at quarter's end.

Carter's jumper 16 seconds into the final period got the Magic going, after which Anthony and Black took charge. They combined for five 3-pointers -- three by Anthony -- in a pull-away that was so frustrating to the Hawks, Young couldn't finish the game after venting on the referees. He drew two technical fouls with 4:47 to go.

Mosley said of his team's response to the Hawks' third-period surge, "We've been there before. We've been in these situations, close games at home. Our ability to get the stops and get on runs at the right time was very big for us. You saw the group come together on the floor."

Anthony shot 4-for-9 from 3-point range, helping the Magic to a 33-12 advantage from beyond the arc.

Franz Wagner added 13 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando, while Banchero complemented his 17 points with nine rebounds and a game-high-tying seven assists.

The Magic bench outscored its Atlanta counterparts 57-30.

Hawks coach Quin Snyder said, "For us to win, we've got to shoot more than 19 threes. We were passing them up."

Niang finished with 15 points, Mouhamed Gueye 12 and Onyeka Okongwu 11 for Atlanta. Dyson Daniels had team highs in rebounds with 12 and assists with seven to go with seven points.

"The biggest thing right now is: You can take things from this to the next game," Snyder said. "There's a Game 1 and a Game 2. You've got to transition to the next game, regardless of who (the opponent) is. The focus will be on the game Friday. We can be more aggressive shooting the ball. Let it rip."

By Field Level Media

REUTERS