NBA: Grizzlies clinch play-off berth with rout of Rockets

MEMPHIS – Luke Kennard was unstoppable beyond the arc on Friday night, enjoying every moment as the ball left his hand for yet another three-point shot.

The guard had a dazzling performance from range, as the Memphis Grizzlies clinched a National Basketball Association (NBA) play-off berth with a 151-114 rout of the Houston Rockets at the FedExForum in Memphis.

Kennard’s 10 three-pointers on just 11 attempts in a single game were the most of any Memphis player in history, as the Grizzlies also set a franchise record with 25 three-pointers.

The team’s treys came on just 42 attempts from eight players and Kennard was the most ruthlessly efficient of all.

“It feels like every shot I take is going to go in,” he said, after scoring a game-high 30 points.

“When you start hitting a couple in a row, usually about three for me, I start feeling it a little bit. It’s the kind of thing where once it leaves your hand, you think it’s going in. So, it was pretty fun.”

Desmond Bane added 25 points and two-time All-Star Ja Morant chipped in 18 in a confident performance off the bench, in his second match back from an eight-game NBA suspension for brandishing a gun at a nightclub.

Even against Western Conference stragglers Houston, it was an impressive display.

Most importantly, Kennard said, it was the team’s most complete game since his arrival.

“Playing hard, playing fast, communicating a lot better,” he said.

“We put it together for about a 48-minute game, so it was a fun game. I love the way we played – we’ve just got to build off that.”

The Grizzlies improved to 46-27 and are second in the Western Conference, behind the Denver Nuggets (49-24).

“We weren’t physical with them. They were physical with us,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said.

“We were just letting them run around wherever they wanted. Obviously, Kennard got going and we were just late (defending the three-point line).”

In Salt Lake City, the Milwaukee Bucks made 22 three-pointers in a 144-116 wire-to-wire victory over the Utah Jazz that preserved their 2½-game lead over the Boston Celtics atop the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics (51-23) kept the pressure on with a 120-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers, while third-placed Philadelphia (49-24) slipped back with a 120-112 loss to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.

Grayson Allen scored a season-high 25 points for Milwaukee, draining five three-pointers. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and handed out 11 assists for the Bucks before sitting out the fourth quarter.

The Greek superstar took a hard foul early in the game and grabbed his right wrist – the same wrist he injured in February.

But, if Antetokounmpo was slowed, the Bucks were not.

They drained eight three-pointers – four by Allen – in the first quarter and Brook Lopez had four of his seven blocks in the first frame as they seized control.

Six Bucks players scored in double figures and Milwaukee dished out 42 assists.

“It’s a really fun way to play,” Allen said. “We were getting the ball up the court super quick today.

“A bunch of those possessions were less than five seconds – you get, like, three passes in and a good shot.”

In Boston, Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points – his 40th 30-point game of the season, setting a franchise record.

Jaylen Brown added 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Derrick White chipped in 22 points for the Celtics, who outscored the Pacers 32-21 in the third quarter and rolled from there.

Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner scored 20 apiece for Indiana, who are chasing the Chicago Bulls (35-38) for 10th place in the East and the final play-in tournament berth. AFP