Warriors edge Memphis, Bucks beat Celtics in NBA playoffs

Despite Draymond Green’s ejection, reserve guard Jordan Poole had 31 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists to lead Golden State to a 117-116 victory over Memphis in the NBA playoff series opener on Sunday.

With 36.6 seconds left, Klay Thompson hit the game-winning 3-pointer, and the Warriors denied Grizzlies playmaker Ja Morant twice in the final seconds.

“Big win for us to start the series, get home-court advantage,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said. “And get greedy in the second game.”

The Western Conference second-round best-of-seven series will resume at Memphis on Tuesday.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists in the Eastern Conference opening against Boston on Sunday, leading the reigning champion Bucks to a 101-89 victory.

Curry scored 24 points in Memphis, while Andrew Wiggins had 17 and Thompson had 15.

For Memphis, Morant had 34 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds, while Jackson had 33 points and 10 rebounds.

Green, a key defender in Golden State’s championship runs in 2015, 2017 and 2018, was tossed in the second quarter for a flagrant-2 penalty after punching Brandon Clarke in the face and dragging him down by the jersey.

“This is a huge game to win, especially with him going out early,” Poole said. “We were able to fill in for the energy he has.”

The Warriors responded with a strong third-quarter start.

“We were determined,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We knew that was a tough break that didn’t go our way. We were shocked by the decision. We went on a run in the third quarter to get the lead. That established we weren’t going anywhere.”

Poole scored a playoff career-high in 38 minutes off the bench, hitting 12-of-20 from the floor and 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

“He’s a hooper, ultimate confidence in himself,” Curry said. “You can’t teach that preparation for the moment. You either have it or you don’t and he does.”

Poole led the Warriors with 14 first-half points and added 10 in the third quarter as Golden State took a 91-90 lead.

“At the core we’ve got championship DNA and we want to utilize that,” Curry said. “At this stage that’s what it’s all about.”

Poole scored seven points in a 12-3 run to open the fourth and give the Warriors a 103-93 lead before the Grizzlies battled back.

Thompson missed two late free throws and Memphis had a final shot but Morant missed a driving layup at the buzzer.

“He had a great look. It just didn’t happen to go in,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “I love the way our guys competed. It just wasn’t good enough.”

Giannis aggressive

When he was on the field against the NBA’s best defenders in Boston, Antetokounmpo scored or assisted on 55 of Milwaukee’s 87 points.

“I just like to be aggressive,” said Antetokounmpo. “I want to be aggressive. My teammates want me to be aggressive. I’m trying to get into the paint for my teammates and for myself.”

In the opening five minutes, Antetokounmpo had three turnovers as Boston used multiple players to guard the Greek behemoth.

Despite playing without forward Khris Middleton due to a sprained left knee ligament, Antetokounmpo was able to raise the Bucks from there.

Jrue Holiday led Milwaukee with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Bobby Portis added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the Bucks kept it rough.

The Celtics shot a dismal 28-of-84 (33.3 percent) from the field, making only 10 points inside the 3-point arc despite attempting a playoff-high 50 3-point attempts.

“It’s good to get this dud out of the way,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said.

Udoka was unhappy about the Bucks scoring 27 points off 18 Celtics turnovers and said Boston’s inability to score inside was “alarming.”

“We settled for some tougher 3-point shots,” he said. “For the most part I don’t think our decision making was great.”

Boston’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart suffered a right shoulder injury and thigh bruises in the second quarter.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 21 points.

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