The Warriors completed an undefeated two-game homestand with a 106-94 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. Klay Thompson led all scorers with 31 points, 21 of which came in the second half. Stephen Curry notched a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists, while Andre Iguodala was brilliant off the bench, totaling 20 points along with seven rebounds and four assists. With the victory, Golden State improves to 59-14 on the season.
GAME LEADERS
In a matchup between two Western Conference teams headed to the postseason, it remained a close battle throughout until the Warriors ran away with the game in the final minutes. The contest featured 15 lead changes, 13 ties and neither side was able to generate a double-digit advantage until the final quarter of play.
Memphis enforced their style of play early on, slowing down the pace to their advantage in the early going. After Klay Thompson’s jumper at the 4:28 mark of the opening frame gave Golden State a slight 15-14 lead, the Grizzlies reeled off seven-straight points to jump back in front. The Warriors would pull even at 25-25 on Andre Iguodala’s dunk with 45 seconds remaining, but Mike Conley’s three-pointer 19 seconds later gave Memphis a slim three-point advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Golden State pulled within two points on two occasions early in the second frame, but a 7-1 Grizzlies’ run would put Memphis up 39-31 with 7:45 left in the first half. That would turn out to be their largest lead of the entire night, however, as the Warriors would begin to find their footing. Iguodala responded immediately with a four-point play, and his jumper at the 2:38 mark would tie things at 48 a side. Iguodala would tally the final two of his 11 second quarter points on two free throws with a second remaining to give the Warriors a 56-54 lead at halftime.
Thompson scored the Warriors’ first 10 points of the second half, sandwiching a Conley three-pointer with two of his own to put Golden State up 64-61 with 8:33 remaining in the third quarter. Memphis would then score five-straight points over the next minute to momentarily jump back in front, but that would turn out to be their final lead of the entire game. Thompson’s jumper on the ensuing possession knotted the score at 66-66, after which Matt Barnes scored five consecutive points to help the Warriors retake the lead. Golden State would build their advantage to 80-71 on a ferocious Iguodala dunk with 2:08 remaining in the frame, but the Grizzlies would then respond with a 10-1 burst to tie the contest at 81-81. Stephen Curry’s jumper with three seconds left broke the deadlock and gave the Warriors an 83-81 advantage heading into the fourth and final quarter.
Thompson opened the fourth frame with another three-pointer, and after Brandan Wright scored in response, Memphis wouldn’t come closer than within three points for the rest of the night. A Troy Daniels’ three-pointer with 9:08 remaining pulled the Grizzlies within 89-86, but Ian Clark’s jumper 42 seconds later ignited a 7-0 Golden State burst that would give the Warriors the first double-digit advantage for either team on Curry’s three-pointer with 4:56 left to play. After Conley answered back with an 18-footer, Curry would score five points in a span of 37 seconds to give Golden State their largest lead of the entire game at 101-89 with 2:58 remaining. Memphis would be limited to just a single basket in the ensuing two minutes, and Thompson’s seventh and final three-pointer of the night with 30 seconds left provided the final points of Golden State’s 106-94 win.
With the victory, the Warriors improve to 59-14 on the season and stretch their current winning streak to seven games. They’ll now head out for their final road back-to-back sequence of the season, beginning in Houston on Tuesday night.