NBA: Memphis Grizzlies Seal Playoff Spot With Win Over Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics Beat Indiana Pacers

The Memphis Grizzlies clinched an NBA playoff berth in emphatic style on Friday, Luke Kennard leading a dazzling display from three-point range in a 151-114 rout of the Houston Rockets.

Kennard set a franchise record with 10 three-pointers — on just 11 attempts — as Memphis set a franchise record with 25 from beyond the arc.

Their 25 treys came on just 42 attempts. Eight Grizzlies players converted from beyond the arc and Kennard was the most ruthlessly efficient of all.

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“It feels like every shot I take is going to go in,” Kennard said after scoring 30 points.

Desmond Bane added 25 and two-time All-Star Ja Morant added 18 in a confident performance off the bench in his second game 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.

“Setting a franchise record as a team, setting a franchise record as an individual, for us, it’s huge,” said Grizzles coach Taylor Jenkins after his team booked a third straight trip to the playoffs.

“You see the versatility,” he added of Kennard. “He’s out there knocking down shots, and he also has three assists, he’s competing on defense.”

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 Boston Celtics kept the pressure on Milwaukee in the race for the Eastern Conference top seed with a 120-95 home victory over the Indiana Pacers.

The Celtics entered the night trailing the Eastern Conference-leading Bucks by two and a half games, with the Philadelphia 76ers a further half-game back, and all three-teams were in action on Friday.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points — his 40th 30-point game of the season setting a franchise record as he surpassed the 39 40-point games posted by Hall of Famer Larry Bird in the 1987-88 season.

Jaylen Brown added 27 points and grabbed seven rebounds and Derrick White chipped in 22 points for the Celtics, who were coming off a six-game road-trip capped by a blowout win at Sacramento.

Tatum said the Celtics were determined to keep things rolling at home, against a Pacers team that “kicked our butt” on their last trip to Boston.

“We didn’t forget that,” Tatum said.

Hornets sting Mavs

But even though they were aggressive from the outset, it wasn’t until the third quarter that the Celtics took full control. They out-scored the Pacers 32-21 and rolled from there.

Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton scored 20 points in his return from a six-game injury absence. Myles Turner added 20 points for Indiana, who are chasing the Chicago Bulls for 10th place in the East and the final play-in tournament berth.

Elsewhere, the shorthanded Charlotte Hornets surprised the Mavericks 117-109 in Dallas.

The Hornets, with starters Kelly Oubre and Terry Rozier among their absentees, led much of the night, powered by 28 points from P.J. Washington and 23 from Gordon Hayward.

The Mavs, led by 28 points from Luka Doncic, cut a 21-point deficit to single digits late in the third quarter but dropped their third straight game as they battle for a play-in berth.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)