The play was perfect, until it wasn’t.

The day was epic until the end.

Just 3.6 seconds remained. Desmond Bane inbounded to Brandon Clarke, who found Ja Morant heading to the rim at full tilt.

Grizzlies lose tense, tight Game 1 thriller

Morant may be the best in the league at finishing at the rim. He won Game 5 of the first-round playoff series with a last-second play he later called: “Go get a bucket, Ja.”

This was another version.

Only this time, Klay Thompson was hanging with Morant. 

Morant went up with his left hand, laid the ball off the backboard — and missed.

So the Golden State Warriors took Game 1 of this series with the Grizzlies, 117-116.

“I’ve seen him make that layup thousands of times,” said Jaren Jackson Jr.

Said Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins: “Got a great look, it just didn’t go in.”

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As for Morant’s thoughts on the matter?

“I missed a layup I normally make,” he said. “On to the next one.”

And, yes, the Grizzlies are now on to the next one. But it’s a good thing they have proven that absolutely nothing bothers them.

Because it wasn’t just a last-second shot the Grizzlies missed Sunday at FedExForum. It was a massive opportunity.

The Grizzlies lost the game even though: 1) They had two more 3-pointers than the Warriors; 2) They got 33 points (and six 3-pointers) from Jackson; 3) They got 14 points (and three 3-pointers) from De’Anthony Melton; 4) They got 34 points (and four 3-pointers) from Morant, and 5) Thompson shot just 6 of 19 from the field.

Oh, yeah, and Golden State center Draymond Green was tossed and missed the entire second half.

That play happened with 1:18 left in the second quarter. Green smacked Clarke with his right hand, then yanked him down with his left.

As the officials walked over to consult with the replay center, the crowd began to cheer.

THROW HIM OUT!

THROW HIM OUT!

THROW HIM OUT!

So sure enough, the officials did!

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They threw Green out. They assessed him a flagrant 2 foul, which comes with an automatic ejection. Whereupon Green headed toward the tunnel before wheeling, sprinting back to the Warriors bench, low-fiving his teammates, and then waving to the crowd as he left the court for good.

The crowd roared in raucous delight. Most of America seemed genuinely dumbfounded by the turn of events.

“You can’t get ejected from a playoff game for that” was the most common refrain.

Except you can when you give your opponent the old one-two.

“It’s not shocking that he did that,” Clarke said. “He’s been known for flagrant fouls in his career. He did hit me pretty hard twice.”

The Grizzlies were up by a single point when Green was evicted. By halftime, they had stretched the lead to six.

And if you were feeling pretty good as a Grizzlies fan at that moment, it’s entirely understandable. The Warriors were just 19-16 this season without Green. The win was there for the Grizzlies to take.

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Instead, whoopsie, they dropped it. Even before that missed final shot.

Maybe it was Jenkins’ decision to stick with Xavier Tillman Sr. to start the third quarter. 

Maybe it was Dillon Brooks going 3 of 13 from the field.

Maybe it was the Grizzlies giving up too many long offensive rebounds, which led to a whopping 26 second-chance points for the Warriors.

Or maybe it was that the Grizzlies are no longer playing the weak-minded Timberwolves.

Thompson — who was 2 of 9 from deep at the time — hit a 3-pointer with 36.6 seconds left to give the Warriors a one-point lead.

Then, shockingly, he missed two free throws to give the Grizzlies one final chance.

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So the play went to Morant. Of course it went to Morant. He is a wizard at getting to the rim for a bucket. He had finished the first half by driving to the hoop, blowing by Jonathan Kuminga for a score and then taunting, “He can’t guard me.”

But this time, it wasn’t Kuminga trying to stay between Morant and the basket. And it wasn’t Anthony Edwards, who had botched the job for the Timberwolves.

It was Thompson, who may not be the defender he once was, but who certainly added to the degree of difficulty.

“That’s a tough shot,” Clarke said. “He’s going so fast to his left. He would have had to be perfect, and do some perfect stuff.”

Perfection eluded Morant this time around. After the miss, he collapsed against the basket stanchion for support.

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So, yeah, it was a lost opportunity. No question about that. If the Grizzlies don’t win the series, it will be one they will look back on with regret.

But it’s not like Green makes the Warriors unbeatable. He already had five turnovers when he was tossed. And the Grizzlies did enough good things Sunday to give them real hope.

Jackson and Melton both looked like their old selves again. Morant didn’t take the same kind of physical beating he did from the Timberwolves. What are the odds that Brooks and Bane will combine to go 6 of 23 from the floor next time? Or that the Grizzlies will give up that many second-chance points and blow that many defensive coverages?

The Grizzlies may or may not win this series. They may or may not win Game 2. But the one thing we know about these players is that they won’t let what happened yesterday beat them tomorrow.

So it’s on to the next one. Just like Morant said. And if it turns out that the Grizzlies trail that one by a single point with seconds to play, Jenkins once again will ask Morant to go get a bucket.

And odds are, he will.