Warriors, Magic grab No. 7 seeds; Preview of UCL quarters last legs; College football games of the century

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to ...

THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS AND THE ORLANDO MAGIC

So that's why the Warriors added Jimmy Butler. Oh, and that Stephen Curry guy is pretty good, too. Golden State held on for a thrilling 121-116 win over the Grizzlies to secure the No. 7 seed in the West.

• Butler scored 38 points, and Curry went for 37, and the Warriors' final 10 points -- including two huge 3-pointers -- in the final two minutes.
• Curry and Butler are the first Warriors duo to both have 35+ points since Dec. 23, 2018, when Curry and Kevin Durant did so.
• Golden State led by 20, but Desmond Bane (30 points) and Ja Morant (22) led Memphis back. The Grizzlies will rue 19 turnovers, including the dagger: a five-second call when trying to inbound down three with just seconds remaining.
• The Warriors will face the Rockets in the first round. The Grizzlies will face the winner of tonight's Kings-Mavericks game in Memphis on Friday for the No. 8 seed.

In TNT's televised post-game interview, Butler kept referring to Curry as Batman, but our Brad Botkin said that the Warriors didn't have a Batman on the floor last night. They had two.

• Botkin: "Playoff Jimmy has indeed been activated as Butler combined with Curry for 75 points. That's a lot just to get through one play-in game, and it won't get any easier from here. Don't get too caught up in this idea that the Rockets don't have a go-to scorer. They are an outright nasty defensive team with plenty of guys who can put the ball in the basket. Curry is probably already sweating thinking about Amen Thompson blanketing him for a six- or seven-game series."

In the East, the Magic claimed the No. 7 seed with a resounding 120-95 win over the Hawks, who will host the winner of tonight's Bulls-Heat on Friday for the No. 8 seed. Cole Anthony had 26 points for Orlando, which outscored Atlanta 41-22 in the fourth quarter.

Orlando's offense can be unsightly, but Anthony was outstanding with 26 points off the bench, and the defense was, predictably, terrific. The Magic will face the Celtics in the first round.

😄Honorable mentions 🏀 And not such a good morning for ...

THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES AND THE ATLANTA HAWKS

For as sideways as this season has gone for the Grizzlies -- a coach fired, a major slump late, another brutal rash of injuries -- Tuesday showed how good they can be. Morant is so, so tough to guard, and when Bane starts lighting it up, this team can really get going.

But it just seems like there's something missing -- maybe Durant or another star, maybe simply staying healthy for once -- and now they're one game away from the season ending.

The Hawks are decidedly further away. Trae Young struggled with Orlando's physicality and size before getting ejected for "making a mockery of the game," referee James Williams said, referring to Young kicking the ball away and then refusing to give it back.

This is the Hawks' fourth straight season in the play-in, which probably tells you all you need to know.

😞 Not so honorable mentions 🏀 NBA playoff expert predictions

And with that, 14 of the 16 playoff teams are settled. With all due respect to the teams that still have a chance at the No. 8 seeds, we're ready to make our NBA playoff picks, and our experts filled out their brackets.

Jack is going with ...

• Maloney: "Celtics over Thunder -- If we do get a Celtics-Thunder Finals, it could be an all-timer. These are two incredible teams with deep, versatile rosters led by innovative coaches. The Celtics are fueled by a desire to repeat and prove last season's title run was not an injury-aided fluke. The Thunder are motivated by last season's second-round exit and all the doubt about how good they actually are. In the end, the Celtics' experience on the biggest stage will give them the slight edge they need to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy again."

I, too, am riding with Boston.

You can see every expert bracket here.

⚽ UEFA Champions League: PSG, Barcelona advance; Real Madrid, Bayern Munich look for comebacks

It was always going to be a tall task to overcome their first-leg deficits, but Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund sure gave it all they had.

The Villans topped PSG, 3-2, Tuesday and had many chances to do even better but ultimately fell 5-4 on aggregate, while Borussia Dortmund's 3-1 win wasn't enough to overcome a 4-0 first-leg deficit, The Black and Yellow falling to Barcelona, 5-3, on aggregate. PSG and Barcelona are into the semifinals.

Aston Villa's near-comeback was a thriller, with the hosts falling down 2-0 (5-1 on aggregate) before a wild rally of three goals in 23 minutes, the latter two -- great goals by John McGinn and Ezri Konsa -- within two minutes of each other. But Gianluigi Donnarumma stood tall and bailed out Les Parisiens, who went through by the skin of their teeth.

Today, we'll find out who will join PSG and Barcelona in the semifinals, with two more potential comeback scenarios on deck. Real Madrid trails Arsenal 3-0 (preview | projected lineups), and Bayern Munich trails Inter 2-1 (preview).

Our expert picks are in, and James Benge explains why Real Madrid won't be able to conjure up more Champions League magic.

• Benge: "It is coming up to two years since Arsenal were beaten by the three-goal margin that Real Madrid need to take this tie to extra time. ... Then there is the prospect of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard getting open space to attack or of Vinicius Junior failing to track back and leaving David Alaba isolated against one of the sport's most devastating two-man games. ... Playing their normal game, Madrid have one clean sheet to their name in their last 10 matches."

Francesco Porzio, on the other hand, explains why Bayern Munich can pull off the comeback.

🏈 Best regular-season college football games of the 21st century

The 21st century is a quarter of the way over (gulp!) and while much has changed in college football, we can all agree on one thing: The games remain awesome.

But some are way more awesome. Chris Hummer ran through the best regular-season college football games of the past 25 years, and my goodness does this bring back some wonderful memories. The "Kick Six" -- the play, the circumstances leading up to it, the incredible Auburn radio call of it, the field storming after it -- is my favorite.

But there are several others that deserve spotlight here, too, including a different iteration of the Iron Bowl:

• Hummer: "2010: No. 2 Auburn 28, No. 11 Alabama 27 -- The Tigers fell behind 24-0 midway through the second quarter. From that point on Cam Newton completed 11 of 14 passes for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 54 sack-adjusted yards and a touchdown. . ... Given the swaths of NFL players on the other sideline and the stakes -- Auburn likely doesn't make the national championship game with a loss -- the comeback Newton led against the Tide is one of the most consequential in college football history."

The names, teams, memories and moments -- Michael Crabtree, Reggie Bush, Appalachian State, a premature Gatorade bath, yada yada yada -- really came flooding back.

📺 What we're watching Wednesday

⚽ Inter vs. Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. on Paramount+ ⚽ Real Madrid vs. Arsenal, 3 p.m. on Paramount+ ⚾ Mariners at Reds, 6:40 p.m. on FS1 🏀 Play-In Tournament: Heat at Bulls, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN 🏒 Red Wings at Devils, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/truTV 🏀 Play-In Tournament: Mavericks at Kings, 10 p.m. on ESPN 🏒 Golden Knights at Canucks, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV