Kiwi Steven Adams and his Memphis Grizzlies have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs, with a 110-96 defeat to Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Playing without All-Star guard Ja Morant and needing a road victory to keep the best-of-seven series alive, Memphis led 89-87 midway through the final quarter, but conceded the next 10 points to gift winning momentum back to their rivals.
Restored to the starting five after Morant succumbed to a knee injury last week, Adams finished with four points, three assists and 10 rebounds, but struggled to keep the Warriors off the boards - they outrebounded the Grizzlies 70-44 and grabbed 25 at the offensive end.
Adams limped off with a right ankle injury before halftime, but returned to start the third quarter.
Dillon Brooks led Memphis with 30 points, including seven three-pointers, with Desmond Bane scoring 25. Golden State's 'Splash Brothers' - Klay Thompson and Steph Curry scored 30 and 29 points respectively, shooting a combined 14-31 from beyond the arc.
The Grizzlies had produced a recordbreaking performance at home two days ago, leading by as many as 55 points in a 134-95 beatdown, but could not duplicate that showing at San Francisco.
The Warriors win the series 4-2 and advance to the conference finals, where they'll meet the winners of Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, currently tied at 3-3.
