Both of these teams were playing the 2nd game of a back-to-back against each other. The Warriors and Grizzlies played 1 day earlier and in that game the Warriors won by 13 points without Stephen Curry. Stephen Curry would be out in this game for the Warriors once again along with James Wiseman, Kevon Looney, and Eric Paschall. Jaren Jackson Jr. would be out for the Grizzlies which didn’t quite even the playing field but it did make the injuries less impactful. This was a game that the Grizzlies entered with a reason to win in their loss the day before. For the Grizzlies to win they needed to defend Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, force turnovers, and Ja Morant would likely need to have a nice game. This would likely be a difficult game for the Warriors to win and if they were going to win they needed to limit turnovers and fouls, defend Ja Morant, and Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole would both likely need nice games. Would the Warriors get their 3rd straight win or would the Grizzlies avenge their loss to the Warriors the night before? To the game!
Alen Smailagić won the tip which led to a 3 from Smailagić. At 11:16 Ja Morant made a floater to give the Grizzlies their first points of the quarter. At 10:50 Kyle Anderson made a floater of his own to give the Grizzlies the lead. At 10:36 Andrew Wiggins made 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 4 for the Warriors. Then at 10:25 Dillon Brooks made a step back jumper to give the Grizzlies the lead. At the 9 minute mark Brooks made a 3 to give the Grizzlies a 7 point lead. At 8:41 Andrew Wiggins made 2 free throws to make it a 5 point game for the Warriors. At 7:31 Jordan Poole made a floater to make it a 3 point game. Then at 6:25 Brandon Clarke made a floater to give the Grizzlies a 5 point lead. At 6:14 Andrew Wiggins made 2 free throws to make it a 3 point game. At the 6 minute mark Clarke made a jumper to retake a 5 point lead for the Grizzlies. At the 5 minute mark Dillon Brooks got a 4 point play to give the Grizzlies an 11 point lead. Then at 4:30 Draymond Green made a couple free throws to make it a 9 point game. At 3:02 Damion Lee made a 3 to make it a 5 point game. For the final points of the quarter Tyus Jones made 2 free throws. At the end of the first quarter the Grizzlies were leading 28-24. The Grizzlies were led by Kyle Anderson and Brandon Clarke in the first quarter with 6 points each. The Warriors were led by Andrew Wiggins with 9 points in the first quarter. The Warriors had 5 more assists, 2 more steals, 2 fewer turnovers, and 1 more foul than the Grizzlies in the first quarter. Both the Warriors and Grizzlies ended with 14 rebounds and 1 block as well. The Warriors shot atrociously in the first quarter with 20% from the field and 30% from deep. The Grizzlies shot much better with 50% from the field and 25% from 3. Both teams went into the 2nd quarter hoping to take a sizable lead.
To start the 2nd quarter Dillon Brooks made 2 free throws that gave the Grizzlies a 6 point lead. At 11:14 Jordan Poole made a pullup jumper to give the Warriors their first points of the quarter and make it a 4 point game. At 11:04 Jonas Valanciunas made a floater to give the Grizzlies a 6 point lead. At 10:35 Jordan Poole made a finger roll to cut their deficit to 4. Then at 10:13 Desmond Bane made a 3 to give the Grizzlies a 7 point lead. At the 10 minute mark Jordan Poole made a reverse layup to make it a 5 point game. At 9:40 Dillon Brooks made 2 free throws to give the Grizzlies a 7 point lead. At 6:56 Nico Mannion made 2 free throws to make it a 4 point game. Then at 1:47 Jordan Poole got a 3 point play to give the Warriors the lead. At 1:36 Desmond Bane made a pullup jumper to tie the game for the Grizzlies. At 1:29 Jordan Poole made 2 free throws to give the Warriors the lead the lead once again. To end the half Ja Morant made a layup. At halftime the Warriors were leading 51-49. The Warriors were leading mainly due to a 12-3 run. The Warriors were led by Jordan Poole with 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in the first half. Andrew Wiggins also played well for the Warriors with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Draymond Green played well too with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Dillon Brooks led the Grizzlies in the first half with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Kyle Anderson also played well for the Grizzlies with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist. Jonas Valanciunas played well too with 6 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist. The Warriors had 3 fewer assists, 1 fewer rebound, 1 more steal, 2 more blocks, 2 fewer turnovers, and 3 fewer fouls than the Grizzlies at halftime. The Warriors still weren’t shooting well at halftime with 31% from the field and 23.5% from deep. The Grizzlies were shooting a bit better with 37.8% from the field and 18.8% from 3. Both teams entered the 3rd quarter hoping that by the end of it they would have a legitimate advantage. To the third!
To start the 3rd quarter Kelly Oubre Jr. made a putback layup. At 10:21 Kyle Anderson made a 3 to give the Grizzlies their first points of the quarter. At 9:48 Dillon Brooks made a 3 to give the Grizzlies the lead. At the 9 minute mark Andrew Wiggins made 2 free throws to give the Warriors the lead. At 8:34 Grayson Allen made 2 free throws to give the Grizzlies the lead. Then at 8:24 Mychal Mulder made a couple of free throws to give the Warriors the lead. At 8:08 Jonas Valanciunas made a layup to give the Grizzlies the lead. At 6:45 Jonas Valanciunas made a 3 to give the Grizzlies a 6 point lead. At 6:30 Kelly Oubre Jr. got a 3 point play to make it a 3 point game. Then at 6:15 Dillon Brooks made a 3 to give the Grizzlies a 6 point lead. At 4:27 Ja Morant made a 3 to give the Grizzlies a 10 point lead. At 3:46 Jordan Poole made a 3 of his own to make it an 8 point game. At 2:15 Andrew Wiggins made a 3 to make it a 4 point game for the Warriors. Then at 1:27 Brandon Clarke got a 3 point play to give the Grizzlies a 5 point lead. At 1:12 Kent Bazemore made a layup to make it a 3 point game. Those points ended up being the final points of the quarter. At the end of the third quarter the Grizzlies were leading 82-79. A 13-4 run in the middle of the quarter helped the Warriors tighten the game. At the end of the third quarter Andrew Wiggins was leading the Warriors with 20 points and Jonas Valanciunas was leading the Grizzlies with 17 points. At the end of the third quarter the Warriors had 3 fewer assists, 5 fewer rebounds, 1 fewer steal, 2 more blocks, and 1 fewer foul than the Grizzlies. The Warriors and Grizzlies each had 8 turnovers at the end of the third quarter. The were still shooting impeccably badly with 34.4% from the field and 26.9% from 3. The Grizzlies were shooting badly too with 37% from the field and 29.6% from downtown. Both teams went into the 4th quarter hoping to play well and take the lead.
To start the 4th quarter Nico Mannion made a game tying 3 for the Warriors. At 10:17 Nico Mannion made a layup to give the Warriors a 2 point lead. At 10:06 Desmond Bane made a 3 to retake the lead for the Grizzlies. Kelly Oubre Jr. quickly retook the lead though with a 3 of his own. At 9:31 Brandon Clarke retook the lead for the Grizzlies with a 3 point play. At 8:26 Desmond Bane made a floater to give the Grizzlies a 6 point lead. At 8:10 Kelly Oubre Jr. made a layup to make it a 4 point game. Then at 4:43 Juan Toscano-Anderson made a 3 to tie the game at 95 for the Warriors. At 4:06 Dillon Brooks made 2 free throws to give the Grizzlies the lead. At 2:43 Jordan Poole made a 3 to retake the lead for the Warriors. Ja Morant quickly countered though with a floater. At 1:26 Brandon Clarke slammed home a dunk to give the Grizzlies a 5 point lead. With 32.1 seconds left in regulation Jordan Poole made a 3 to make it a 4 point game. Then with 20.7 seconds left in regulation Ja Morant made 2 free throws to give the Grizzlies a 6 point lead. For the final points of the game Dillon Brooks made 2 free throws. The Grizzlies won 111-103.
Leo’s Courtside Commentary: This was a nice win for the Jonas Valanciunas led Grizzlies. Valanciunas had 19 points, 15 rebounds, an assist, and 2 blocks. Dillon Brooks also played well with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Brandon Clarke was also a highlight off of the bench with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist. Jordan Poole led the Warriors in this game with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. Andrew Wiggins followed closely behind with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Juan Toscano-Anderson also played well with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. The Warriors ended up with 2 fewer assists, 14 fewer rebounds, 2 more blocks, 1 fewer turnover, and 3 more fouls than the Grizzlies. The Warriors and Grizzlies each ended up with 8 steals too. The Warriors didn’t shoot very well with 34.4% from the field, 31.7% from deep, and 82.4% from the free throw line. The Grizzlies shot a bit better than the Warriors with 38.9% from the field, 31.2% from 3, and 87.1% on free throws. Overall, this was a disappointing game that the Warriors could’ve won.
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Very disappointing game. Sounds like the Warriors easily could have won it – even without Curry. Too bad they couldn’t make it happen. Thanks for the great update.
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