Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Golden State Warriors had plenty of fireworks.
Warriors star Draymond Green was ejected during the second quarter for slapping Brandon Clarke in the face and subsequently grabbing him by the collar of his jersey and pulling him to the ground.
The officials accessed Green with a Flagrant-2 foul, which results in an automatic ejection. Green jogged around the arena, waving and asking Grizzlies fans to boo him as he made his way to the visitor’s tunnel to watch the rest of the game on tv like the rest of us.
But, the Warriors ended up doing just fine without him, coming out on top in Memphis 117-116 thanks to a big day from Jordan Poole, who led Golden State with 31 points off the bench.
Memphis Grizzlies got huge production from Morant, Jackson vs Warriors
For the first time in the 2022 NBA Playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies looked like the team we all got to know during the regular season.
We saw Ja Morant look like his normal self, something that seemed to be missing against the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one.
Morant finished with another near triple-double, which has been a reoccurring theme for the superstar point guard. Ja recorded 34 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds in Game 1.
But, it was Jaren Jackson Jr. that surprised everyone. The Grizzlies forward played with renewed purpose and a fresh perspective after a career-worst performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one.
Jaren Jackson Jr. played the best game we’ve seen from him in years. He finished Game 1 with 33 points and 10 rebounds— it was the kind of game Grizz fans have been hoping to see from Jaren since he signed his nine-figure contract extension last summer.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scoring 33 points today vs Golden State in Game 1 marks just the fifth time in his entire career that he’s scored 30+ points in any game, per Stat Muse.
— Beale Street Bears (@BealeStBearsFS) May 1, 2022
43 pts - 12/13/19
36 pts - 11/30/18
33 pts - 07/31/20
33 pts - 05/01/22
31 pts - 12/02/19
Despite dropping game one, which is a terrible feeling, the Grizzlies corrected a lot of mistakes that we saw them make over and over against in the first round.
The Grizzlies will have a day off before competing in Game 2, set for May 3 at 8:30 PM CT on TNT.