Ja Morant's 47 points carries Memphis Grizzlies past Warriors in Game 2 of Western Conference semis

Desmond Bane was hobbled. Dillon Brooks was ejected.

Ja Morant put the team on his back.

The Memphis Grizzlies' All-Star point guard took over with 18 fourth-quarter points and finished with a playoff career-high 47 against the Golden State Warriors. His last field goal came with the Grizzlies up by one point. He attacked the rim with fearlessness and finished over the raised arms of Golden State defenders.

Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson traveled on the next possession and Morant put the game away to the tune of MVP chants on Tuesday night at FedExForum.

The Grizzlies defeated the Warriors 106-101 to tie the Western Conference semifinals series 1-1. Game 3 is set for Saturday (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC) in San Francisco.

Morant's historical performance puts him in rarified air. He joins LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as the only players to have multiple 45-point games in the NBA playoffs before turning 23 years old.

Here are some observations from Game 3:.

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EJECTED: Memphis Grizzlies' Dillon Brooks ejected for flagrant foul vs. Golden State Warriors

Live and survive by the 3-pointer

The Grizzlies ranked 23rd in the NBA with 32.7 3-point attempts per game in the regular season. They surpassed that total through three quarters.

Part of Golden State's plan was to make the Grizzlies shoot and limit their paint opportunities. Memphis made 16 of 40 3-pointers in Game 1. The efficiency wasn't the same, but Memphis got big makes when they needed them Tuesday. The Grizzlies made 14 of 45 3-pointers

Ziaire Williams missed the past two games due to right knee soreness. The Grizzlies trailed by three when he made two big fourth quarter 3-pointers to give them a 86-83 lead. Williams finished with 14 points and four made 3-pointers. Morant led the Grizzlies with five 3-pointers.

The Grizzlies also held the Warriors to 7-for-38 3-point shooting. Stephen Curry led Golden State with 27 points, but he made just 3 of 11 3-pointers. This was encouraging for the Grizzlies after Brooks left the game. The Warriors' 18.4% shooting from 3-point range was their lowest in franchise history in a game where they attempted 25 or more 3-pointers.

Lineup changes

Both teams started Game 2 with the same lineups as Game 1, but that only mattered for three minutes.

With 9:08 left in the first quarter, Brooks took a hard swipe across Gary Payton II's head and was ejected with a flagrant floul-2. Payton hit the floor hard and fractured his elbow. Warriors coach Steve Kerr talked before the game about expecting the Grizzlies to be more physical, but he took exception to that play by screaming at Grizzlies players as they walked back to their bench.

The Grizzlies lost one of their best wing defenders. and Payton — one of Golden State's best perimeter defenders — missed the rest of the game.

Jordan Poole started the second half of the Warriors and Williams started the third quarter in place of Brooks.

Jaren Jackson Jr. fouled out with 3:59 left in the fourth quarter. Jackson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Desmond Bane is not 100%

Desmond Bane was listed as questionable with lower back soreness.

He didn't play with his same burst and couldn't create as much separation for his shots. Bane took a charge on Otto Porter Jr. with 6:33 left in the second quarter. After the play, Bane laid on the floor for a few seconds before getting up and walking gingerly to the bench.

Bane went scoreless in the second half but showed signs of life when he scored five points and grabbed three rebounds in the third quarter.

Contact Damichael Cole at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter @damichaelc

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ja Morant scores 47, Memphis Grizzlies even Warriors series 1-1