Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler lift the Warriors past the Grizzlies and into the NBA Playoffs

By Kevin Dotson and Wayne Sterling, CNN

(CNN) — The Golden State Warriors and Orlando Magic punched their tickets to the playoffs with wins Tuesday night in the NBA’s play-in tournament. The Magic made easy work of the Atlanta Hawks while the Warriors played a nail-biter against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In a game full of momentum swings and huge plays, the Warriors emerged with a thrilling 121-116 win in Tuesday’s nightcap.

Both teams’ stars came to play Tuesday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The Grizzlies sprinted out to an early lead with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. doing all the scoring for Memphis.

But the Warriors quickly caught fire and went on a prolonged 29-7 run that saw Golden State surge from nine points down to a 13-point lead later in the first quarter.

Superstar Stephen Curry and trade-deadline acquisition Jimmy Butler III were carrying the load for the Warriors as their lead grew to as many as 20 points in the second quarter. Butler netted 21 first-half points for Golden State while Curry added 15.

But Memphis began cutting into the Warriors’ lead, and midway through the third quarter, the Grizzlies cut the deficit to a single point on an and-one play from Morant.

The play proved pivotal, however, as Morant came down awkwardly on the foot of Warriors guard Buddy Hield and rolled his ankle. Morant had to leave the game after completing the 3-point play.

Playing without their star guard, the Grizzlies kept battling. Early in the fourth quarter, Memphis tied the game with a 3-pointer from Desmond Bane and then took a brief lead on a transition lay-up from John Konchar.

After about six minutes on the bench, Morant returned to the game walking with a slight limp. He quickly made his presence felt with a midrange jumper to tie the game at 98.

Golden State pulled ahead again with more heroics from Butler and Curry.

A Butler jumper followed by a pair of clutch 3-pointers from Curry gave the Warriors a six-point cushion with one minute remaining in the game.

But just when it looked like Golden State might have put Memphis away, the Grizzlies found another spark of hope. Two questionable foul calls allowed the Grizzlies to cut the deficit down to a single point with 14 seconds remaining.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr was wise enough to get the ball into the hands of Curry, one of the best free throw shooters in NBA history. A pair of shots from the charity stripe from Curry put the Warriors’ lead back to three points.

Memphis advanced the ball to half court with a timeout, but then forward Santi Aldama could not find anyone to inbound the ball to, resulting in a 5-second violation and a turnover.

A couple more free throws from Curry, who was 13 of 13 from the line, iced the win for the Warriors.

Butler led all scorers with 38 points, his largest scoring night as a member of the Warriors. Curry finished with 37 points.

Bane led Memphis with 30 points, while Morant scored 22 points playing on an injured ankle. Rookie center Zach Edey had a big night with 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Grizzlies.

Golden State claims the Western Conference 7th seed win the win and will now travel to Houston for a first-round series with the second-seeded Rockets starting Sunday.

Memphis meanwhile will have another chance to make the playoffs with a do-or-die game at home on Friday against the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.

Earlier in the evening, the Orlando Magic clinched the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference after routing the Atlanta Hawks 120-95 in the first game.

Cole Anthony came off the bench to score a team-high 26 points and had six assists at the Kia Center in Orlando to lift the Magic to their second consecutive playoff appearance.

The Magic will face the reigning NBA champion and No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in the best-of-seven first round series starting Sunday at TD Garden. Orlando was 2-1 against the Celtics this season.

The Magic led by as many as 22 points in the first half, but the Hawks would cut the lead to three with 2:30 left in the third quarter. Orlando took control in the fourth quarter however, outscoring Atlanta 41-22.

Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. finished with 19 points and seven rebounds and power forward Paolo Banchero added 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Hawks guard Trae Young, who had a game-high 28 points along with six assists, was ejected in the fourth quarter with 4:47 remaining in the game and Atlanta down 107-85.

Young picked up two quick technical fouls after he threw the ball at one official following a score, and later when he refused to give another official the ball.

The Hawks have one more opportunity to make the postseason as they will take on the winner of Wednesday’s Miami Heat at Chicago Bulls play-in game Friday in Atlanta for the final spot in the East.

The winner of Friday’s contest will play the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round beginning Sunday at Rocket Arena.

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