Golden State Warriors Send Message; Beat Memphis Grizzlies 107-84
Friday night’s matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies was their last meeting of the regular season. Though, depending on how things work it, it may not be their last meeting this year.
The Grizzlies were the one team the Warriors haven’t beaten all season, and on Friday night, it looked like they were aware of that fact and really wanted to send a message. And they did just that.
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Stephen Curry nearly delivered the message all by himself, blowing up for 38 points. But, as they have all season, the Warriors played great team basketball in combining for 28 assists on 39 baskets.
It ended up being an easier win than most anybody had expected, as the Warriors blew out the Grizzlies 107-84.
Coming into this game, many thought it was going to be a battle of speed versus size. The Warriors are one of the fastest up and down teams in the league, while the Grizzlies are one of the biggest.
After the first quarter, it was evident that speed had the upper hand. The Warriors quickly built up a lead, ending the first period 31-24.
The fastest team in the league wasn’t slowing down either. Even with Draymond Green in foul trouble for the Warriors, playing only five minutes in the first half, they were still able to maintain a lead.
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The Grizzlies though, were able put together an 8-0 run to bring them within six points of the Warriors. Just as the Grizzlies began to mount their comeback though, Klay Thompson hit a three pointer to put the Warriors back up by nine.
Golden State had a couple of sloppy plays and allowed the Grizzlies to get back into the game again with another 8-0 run in the second quarter. The Warriors maintained the lead through the first half though, going into the halftime break up by a mere five points.
The first half had been a tightly contested, back and forth affair, but in the second half, Golden State looked like a completely different team. The Warriors came out of the break and put their foot on the gas, extending their lead to 20 points by the end of the third quarter.
Golden State Warriors
The 15 point difference in the third quarter was largely due to the fact that Curry went into human torch mode, scoring nearly half of his points in the third quarter alone. He hit three pointer after three pointer, silencing the crowd, but likely increasing the mean-mugging after each shot. It was Curry’s 15th 30-plus point game of the season, and was his fifth with seven or more thee pointers.
It wasn’t all Curry either though. Klay Thompson had a great game putting up 28 points and hitting six three pointers of his own.
The Warriors also played great defense, holding the Grizzlies to just 84 points, while forcing 19 turnovers and turning them into 32 points.
It was a big win for the Warriors in a few different ways. It showed that they can beat one of the league’s best teams on the road, that they can beat any team in the league, and perhaps more imporatntly, it marked their 59th win of the season, which ties the franchise record.
The fourth quarter was almost 12 minutes of rest for all the starters as coach Steve Kerr let the bench close out the game. The starters are going to have to be as fresh as they can for as they prepare to face the Milwaukee Bucks in less than 24 hours.