Mavericks season ends with 120-106 loss to Grizzlies despite strong effort from Anthony Davis

Davis put up 40 points on Friday night in the Play-In Tournament but it was nowhere near enough.

Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) drives to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama (7) during the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies met on Friday night for the final game of the NBA Play-In Tournament. The winner would advance to the playoffs to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the loser's season would be over. Dallas got here by beating the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, while Memphis lost to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday with Ja Morant suffering a serious ankle sprain.

Morant would play after receiving two injections in his ankle, while Anthony Davis was a game-time decision but also played. Dallas started Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington Anthony Davis, and Dereck Lively II, while Memphis went with Morant, Scotty Pippen Jr., Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey.

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The Grizzlies started hot, forcing turnovers on a Mavericks team that didn't start a true point guard, getting out to an early 7-0 lead. Klay Thompson finally got Dallas on the board two minutes into the game with a wide-open corner three in transition. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Thompson traded three on concurring sequences, and Ja Morant was performing admirably through his ankle sprain, getting an and-one through Dereck Lively II. He hit two free-throws on the next sequence to give Memphis an early 10-point lead.

Davis hit back-to-back buckets, but he hurt his leg and would be hobbling over the next few possessions. Meanwhile, Ja Morant threw down a RIDICULOUS one-handed put-back hammer that didn't look like he was injured at all. The Grizzlies were dominating this first quarter in every aspect as Morant hit a stepback three to go up by 20. Davis finally broke a 19-4 run with a running hook, but Santi Aldama hit a three in transition to go up by 21. A quick 6-0 spurt by the Mavs got the lead under 20, but the Grizzlies held a 39-24 lead after the first quarter.

Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Max Christie (00) shoots during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Grizzlies started the second quarter on an 8-0 run with Desmond Bane hitting a deep three from the right wing to force a timeout from Jason Kidd. They were growing this lead with Ja Morant on the bench, and with as big of a lead as they had, they could pick and choose how to play him to try and save him for Sunday if they went on to win.

Anthony Davis hit a three for his third straight basket with five minutes left in the quarter to get the lead back under 20, but Ja Morant was back in the game and back to scoring. When he wasn't scoring, he was getting out in transition and leaving passes for Santi Aldama, who threw down a 360 dunk (which looked as strange as you might expect). Otherwise, Spencer Dinwiddie was taking bad shots after not playing at all on Wednesday, Memphis was torching the Mavs up the floor, and Anthony Davis was the only consistent scoring threat. Davis hit a tough layup to put the lead back under 20 and gave him 22 points, but the Grizzlies still took a 66-49 lead into halftime, despite the Mavericks closing on an 8-0 run.

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The Mavericks continued that run to start the second half, as an Anthony Davis three-pointer from the left wing cut the lead to 10 just three minutes in. After Ja Morant found Zach Edey on a roll, Klay Thompson hit a three to cut the lead to nine. After some traded baskets, Davis received a breakout pass in transition and slammed it home to cut the lead to seven, but Jon Konchar drilled a three to push it back to ten midway through the period.

A 9-2 run after a timeout from Jason Kidd put the Grizzlies back up by 17, and the lead would bounce around there for the next few minutes, with Zach Edey throwing a dunk home to take a 96-78 lead heading into the final quarter.

Apr 18, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Brandon Williams (10) shoots against Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey (14) during the second quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Dallas and Memphis traded baskets to start the final frame, including Brandon Williams finding Klay Thompson for a layup in transition, but the Mavericks had issues cutting the lead back under 15. Even after a technical foul on Zach Edey, Klay Thompson missed the free throw. Anthony Davis checked out as he had been racking up multiple lower body injuries all game, and then Desmond Bane followed that up with a made three to push the lead to 20 again.

Davis came back in (for what reason, we'll never know) and was clearly hobbling, but he got up to 40 points for the game. But with him not being able to move, the Grizzlies were able to get out in transition to go back up by 19. They'd be able to coast to the finish from there and go on to win, 120-106.

Anthony Davis was incredible on offense despite battling injury, finishing with 40 points and 9 rebounds on 16/29 shooting. Klay Thompson (18 points) and Brandon Williams (16 points) had solid games again, as did Max Christie (11 points), but it was ROUGH outside of that. P.J. Washington went scoreless with five fouls in an egregious game from him. And the defense was downright bad.

Memphis was led by Jaren Jackson Jr. with 24 points, but it was a team effort overall. Desmond Bane had 22 points, Ja Morant had 22 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds on a bad ankle, Zach Edey had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Scotty Pippen Jr. had 13 points, and Santi Aldama had 11. Their first half of shooting 50% from the floor carried them through the rest of the game.

The Grizzlies will go on to play the OKC Thunder as they become the 8th seed in the playoffs, while the Mavericks' season is over, and Nico Harrison will have a lot to answer for this offseason.

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