It looked like Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors were going to cruise to victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The Warriors went up 20 points midway through the second quarter and had the Chase Center crowd rocking. But the Grizzlies reeled the Dubs back in, leading to a frantic finish even after Ja Morant got injured in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, Curry sealed the 121-116 win with a pair of dagger triples and four free throws, with a forced five-second call also mixed in.

Next up is a showdown against the upstart Houston Rockets. Curry knows that's going to be a tough series, but he has a “sense of relief” to get this win and secure a spot in the playoffs instead of having to face a do-or-die play-in game against the Sacramento Kings or Dallas Mavericks.

“Now with some clarity on who we're playing in the playoff series — a great Houston team that's had an amazing year — for us, just a sense of relief that we have something look forward to now and excited about the challenge,” Curry said.

Curry and Jimmy Butler played Batman and Robin against Memphis. Butler did a lot of damage early en route to a game-high 38 points, while Curry finished the job to get to 37 points.

Warriors vs. Rockets will be a battle

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The Rockets don't have any playoff experience as a group, but they're going to present a challenge to Stephen Curry and the Warriors. Houston's defense is elite and has a number of bodies to throw at Curry, including Defensive Player of the Year candidate Amen Thompson. Not even two weeks ago we saw Thompson and the Rockets hold the Dubs star to three points on 1-of-10 shooting in a 10-point Houston win.

The Rockets will be physical with Curry, so he's going to have to be ready for a grueling series and will need plenty of help from his teammates. But Curry is used to this kind of thing over his legendary career, and he's looking forward to the challenge as he and Golden State embark on what they hope will be a long playoff run.

The Warriors will visit Houston for Game 1 on Sunday night.