Stephen Curry goes for 38 as Warriors crush Grizzlies
Conventional NBA wisdom says that a team that has not made the conference since 1976, is led by a head coach who had never served on any staff prior to this season, and boasts zero players with any NBA Finals appearances does not have the experience to win a title. It could be worth remembering that there’s a first time for everything, though, because the Golden State Warriors are playing well enough to buck those trends.
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The NBA-best Warriors improved their record to 59-13 on Friday with a 107-84 beatdown of the West’s second-place Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. The win ties the franchise record for wins set in 1975-76 and breaks the previous record for road wins with 25. Golden State has now won eight in a row and 13 of their last 14 contests, moving to within a single win of clinching homecourt advantage until the NBA Finals in the process. With a four-game lead on the Atlanta Hawks, they’re also a safe bet to capture the best record in the league.
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Friday’s big win against the second-best team in the conference was a team effort, as usual, but MVP candidate Stephen Curry was the obvious star of the show. Curry went for 38 points (8-of-12 3FG), 10 assists, and three steals in 34 minutes, scoring 17 of his points during a 31-16 third quarter that essentially decided the result.
Curry was joined by Splash Brother and fellow All-Star Klay Thompson, who had 28 points in just 27 minutes with his own stellar shooting (10-of-17 FG, 6-of-9 3FG). Draymond Green was the only other player to score in double figures with 10 points.
While Curry and Thompson deservedly garner most of the attention for their shooting prowess, the Warriors arguably won this game via their defense. The Grizzlies have proved a difficult opponent for them in recent years due to their interior strength and ability to control tempo, but Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combined for 23 points on just 20 field-goal attempts as Memphis committed 19 turnovers and grabbed just eight offensive rebounds. The common criticism from Charles Barkley and other commentators no longer holds water — the Warriors have the depth and versatility to handle many different types of opponents. This squad is not invincible by any stretch, but they also have no glaring weaknesses when healthy.
The loss carries immediate bad news for the Grizzlies in that it drops them to just a half-game ahead of the victorious Houston Rockets in the race for the No. 2 seed. Yet it’s much more distressing for coming only two days after another blowout loss at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers. There’s no great shame in losing to arguably the two leading title contenders in the NBA, even if the Grizzlies consider themselves on that same level. Rather, the problem is that the Grizzlies have looked outclassed on their own floor against their supposed competition for the sport’s top prize. Unfortunately, things won’t get much easier for Memphis their next time out — they face the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at the AT&T Center.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
