Skip to content

Grizzlies clinch play-in tournament spot with win over Bucks

Joe Murphy / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Memphis Grizzlies guaranteed a spot in this weekend's play-in tournament to determine the Western Conference's final playoff berth following their 119-106 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

Jonas Valanciunas and Ja Morant each finished with triple-doubles to lead Memphis. It marked the first time in franchise history that two Grizzlies players recorded a triple-double in the same game, according to Basketball-Reference.

"I feel like we were locked in, listened to coach. We all were here, played as a team as you can tell by the assist column. And we knocked down shots," Morant said postgame after finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Memphis (34-39) will enter the play-in tournament as the Western Conference's ninth seed. They'll face the eighth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who qualified for the tournament following Thursday's win over the Brooklyn Nets.

"Time to lock in. We've got a really tough one coming up on Saturday," Valanciunas said following his monster 26-point, 19-rebound, 12-assist outing. "We got to be ready, we got to be focused, and go do battle."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox