Former Croatia midfielder Nikola Pokrivac died in a car crash in Karlovac in central Croatia on Friday, the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) said. He was 39.

Local media reported that the collision, which involved four vehicles, also killed one other person from a different car. Pokrivac was in a vehicle with three teammates from fourth-tier club NK Vojnic, who are injured, two of them critically.

Former Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Pokrivac played for Croatia from 2008 to 2010, earning 15 caps. He also played for Ligue 1 side AS Monaco and Austrian club RB Salzburg.

"It is impossible to find words of comfort in such a shocking and unimaginably sad moment when we have lost a young life," the HNS said in a statement.

"I can only express my deepest condolences to Nikola's family and loved ones for this irreparable loss, and the HNS and the Croatian football family will be with them in these most difficult moments," HNS President Marijan Kustic added.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Anthony Davis limped to the Dallas Mavericks' bench during a timeout with 5:22 remaining Friday night and put a towel over his head.

Davis, nursing a calf that was sore after being kneed by Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey earlier in the fourth quarter, finally called off the fight. He was done for the night. And the Mavericks were done for the season.

"I just wanted to leave everything out on the floor, no matter what," Davis said after the Mavericks were eliminated with a 120-106 loss to the Grizzlies in the Western Conference's final play-in game, which Dallas trailed by 25 points in the first half.

Davis' 40 points, his most in a Mavericks uniform, weren't enough to give Dallas a chance to extend a season that teammate Klay Thompson succinctly described as "tumultuous."

After advancing to the NBA Finals a year ago, Dallas' season was turned upside down with general manager Nico Harrison's shocking decision to trade face-of-the-franchise Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that brought Davis to Dallas. The rest of the Mavs' season was ravaged by injuries, especially a strained left adductor suffered by Davis in his Dallas debut that sidelined him for six weeks and the torn ACL that ended All-Star guard Kyrie Irving's season in early March.

"I think we persevered," said Thompson, who scored 18 points in the season-ending loss. "We were down to eight, nine guys at one point and we held up the fort and got into the play-in and gave ourselves a shot to get to the playoffs.

"It sucks. It really sucks, but I'm really proud of every man in this locker room. We showed up to work every day. We try to do the right thing every day."

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd called the Mavericks' 39-43 campaign, which earned them the West's 10-seed and final play-in berth, an "incredible season."

"When you look at the injuries that we've had [and] the change, for us to even be here playing in this game tonight, it's incredible," Kidd said. "It just shows the character of that group in that locker room, the fight, being prepared, moving on, learning from our losses and also our wins. So an incredible season with the change and injuries. Some would say we shouldn't even be here, so give those guys in that locker room a lot of credit."

The Dallas fan base's outrage about trading Doncic, a five-time first-team All-NBA selection who has yet to hit his prime, loomed over the Mavericks like a black cloud for the past 2 months. There were frequent chants calling for the firing of Harrison at Mavs home games, especially during Doncic's 45-point performance when he led the Lakers to a win in his emotional return to Dallas on April 9.

"Obviously, it's a lot of emotions that I know is not directed toward me," Davis said. "The city loved [Doncic]. You get rid of the guy, new guy comes in. While they want to embrace you and are thankful for you, it still stings. So I'm just thankful and appreciative of the city of Dallas and their fans to welcome me and my teammates coming in to a situation."

Davis added: "Obviously, it was a tough situation, but I tried to do as much as I can to go out and just when I was on the floor to compete and try to help us win games."

Davis returned for the final three months of the season despite some in the organization suggesting he shut it down due to Dallas' hopes of contending taking a hit with Kyrie Irving's injury, which will prevent the star guard from playing for a significant stretch to begin next season.

"I just wanted to, if I was able to play, come back and play," Davis said. "I think the fans deserved it, my teammates deserved it, organization deserved it for myself to come out and just do whatever I can to get back on the floor to try to compete at the highest level and try to obviously get further than what we did this season."

Thompson, a four-time champion during his 13-year stint with the Golden State Warriors, opted to sign with the Mavericks over a more lucrative offer from the Lakers last summer because he believed Dallas presented his best opportunity to win another title. He also wanted to play with Doncic, a brilliant playmaker that Thompson expected would create a lot of wide-open 3-point looks for him.

With the Mavericks' season ending far short of their goal, Thompson declined to give a straight answer when asked if he would have made a different decision in free agency if he knew what would ensue.

"Don't do this to me. Don't do that to me. Don't do that," Thompson said, dropping his head and shaking it, letting out a pained laugh. "That's kind of a ridiculous question. I don't own a time machine, and I don't believe in going back, looking back. If I did that my whole career, I would not be where I'm at and I wouldn't have been able to persevere through two really hard injuries.

"So I'm here in Dallas, and I enjoyed my time and I'm looking forward to the future."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Ja Morant shrugged off a sprained right ankle to post 22 points and nine assists, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Dallas Mavericks 120-106 on Friday night to advance to the NBA playoffs.

Memphis secured the Western Conference's eighth seed and will open against top-seeded Oklahoma City in a best-of-seven series beginning Sunday on the Thunder's home court.

Morant was injured Tuesday night at Golden State in the Grizzlies' play-in opener and was questionable to play Friday.

At the postgame news conference Friday, Morant confirmed that he underwent an MRI and received a pain-killing injection Thursday, and that he received another pain-killing injection before Friday's pregame warmups.

"I feel like this [injury] was more difficult than others," Morant said. "Obviously, regular-season games, it's not win or go home. So, this one was way more difficult -- the whole process, like, learning what I would have to do to be able to get out there. I was kind of questioning it, but with our staff, the doctors, they gave me all the info I needed and [in the] simplest terms so I will understand.

"From that point, it was pretty much easy. I wanted to be on the floor. I wanted to play this game and get the win."

Asked if he would continue to receive pain-killing injections during the first round of the playoffs, Morant told ESPN, "That's a question for somebody else. I'm going to be out there regardless."

Anthony Davis led the Mavericks with 40 points and nine rebounds, but limped off in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a right calf injury. He returned briefly, but didn't finish the game. Klay Thompson added 18 points.

Davis sat in the locker room after the game with a wrap and an ice bag on the leg. He said he tried to fight through the injury, knowing it was a win-or-go-home situation.

"We had our chances. Obviously, a tough loss," Davis said.

Morant delivered a thrilling start that included a high-flying, one-handed slam dunk that had teammate Desmond Bane yelling "Showtime!" at him in celebration as Morant elevated so high his eyes were level with the rim.

Morant, who scored 16 points in the first half, said of his sprained ankle, "I couldn't feel it ... so I was out there."

"I've learned not to doubt him too much," Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said of Morant. "He comes up with some stuff that I'm not sure there's any other human being on the planet that they can do stuff like that."

Morant occasionally limped to the free throw line, but that was about the only sign he was playing hurt. He finished with 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals before interim coach Tuomas Iisalo pulled his starters in the final couple of minutes to get some rest.

Morant wound up playing 33 minutes, helping the Grizzlies finish off a wire-to-wire win.

"I honestly feel like I could have been better," he said. "But any day you can wake up and go do what you love at the highest level, you should have fun. So, yeah, it felt good to get a win and have smiles around here."

Memphis has lost nine straight to the Thunder by an average of 16.9 points per game, including four straight by double figures this season. Jaren Jackson Jr., who led Memphis with 24 points on Friday night, said the Grizzlies are looking at a different situation in the first round.

"A series is a series," Jackson said. "You've got to stay level-headed. Whether you win a game or lose a game, it really doesn't matter until it's over."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Quarterback Ryan Browne has decided to transfer back to Purdue after joining North Carolina earlier this offseason.

Browne committed to rejoining the Boilermakers on Friday after entering his name in the NCAA transfer portal Wednesday.

The 6-foot-4, 210-pound redshirt sophomore started two games for Purdue in 2024 but moved on during the program's head coaching change and went through spring practice under new Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick.

North Carolina landed a commitment from South Alabama transfer quarterback Gio Lopez on Thursday.

Browne and freshman Bryce Baker were UNC's lone scholarship quarterbacks available for spring practice and were competing with three walk-ons while sixth-year senior Max Johnson recovers from a broken leg.

Browne threw for 636 yards, rushed for 240 yards and scored four touchdowns while appearing in nine games as Hudson Card's backup over the past two seasons at Purdue, earning starts in losses to Illinois and Oregon.

By returning to West Lafayette, Browne will get an opportunity to compete for a starting job with Arkansas transfer Malachi Singleton, Washington State transfer Evans Chuba and Bennett Meredith, a former Arizona State transfer.

The Boilermakers lost one quarterback, EJ Colson, to the transfer portal earlier this week.

ATLANTA -- After making NBA play-in tournament history by winning two road games, the Miami Heat won't be afraid of facing No. 1 seed Cleveland in the playoffs.

Tyler Herro scored 30 points while sinking two 3-pointers in overtime and the Heat regrouped after losing an early lead to beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-114 on Friday night.

Miami will play at Cleveland on Sunday night in the opening game of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

"I know how badly our group wanted to get into this thing," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I could see it in their eyes and feel it in their heart."

Miami's Davion Mitchell scored only 7 points in regulation before adding three 3-pointers in overtime, matching his career high for any quarter in his career.

Herro and Mitchell scored or assisted on 31 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Herro joined Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry as the only players with multiple 30-point games in a single season's play-in tournament.

The Heat became the first No. 10 seed in either conference to make the playoffs since the current play-in format was launched in the 2020-21 season. Miami also became the first play-in team to advance with two road wins.

"We did it the hard way. We're battle-tested," said Miami's Haywood Highsmith, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. "We can go anywhere and beat anybody."

Asked about the challenge of facing Cleveland, Spoelstra said, "I'm so grateful we're in the playoffs. We're the first team to do it, and why not, to take on two road games."

Added Highsmith: "We fought to get into the playoffs. Now what we're in, we're not going to go out soft."

Trae Young's lay-in with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 106, forcing the overtime. Young scored 29 points with 11 assists. Onyeka Okongwu had 28 points with 12 rebounds.

"Not making the playoffs is a failure to me," Young said.

Miami started strong, scoring the game's first 10 points and leading by 17 points at 45-28 in the second period.

The Hawks tied the game for the first time at 88 on a layup by Terance Mann. Young's 3-pointer gave Atlanta its first lead at 91-88 with 7:36 remaining.

Atlanta led 93-92 before Okongwu hit a 3-pointer. Following a steal by Dyson Daniels, Okongwu's jam extended the lead to 98-92.

Heat forward Nikola Jovic, who had been out since Feb. 23 with a broken right hand, was available but did not play. Guard Pelle Larsson (ankle) also was available for the first time since April 7.

After setting season lows with four 3-pointers made and 21 attempted against Orlando in the first play-in game, coach Quin Snyder said his players "have got to be more willing to take contested 3s."

The Hawks responded by attempting 21 3s in just the first half against Miami, while making five. For the game, Atlanta made 16 of 47 3s.

The Heat are in the playoffs for the sixth straight season, tied for the longest streak in franchise history. This was their fourth play-in win all time, breaking a tie with the Hawks, Pelicans and Lakers for most since the tournament was introduced.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.