Stephen Curry put on yet another incredible performance as the Warriors made it four straight wins to begin the season.
GAME LEADERS
Behind yet another spectacular performance from Stephen Curry, the Warriors made it four wins in a row to begin the season with a 119-69 victory over the Grizzlies on Monday night. Curry scored a game-high 30 points, including 21 in the third quarter, as the Dubs overcame a first quarter deficit for their largest margin of victory so far this season. Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Festus Ezeli and Ian Clark all scored in double digits, as all 13 members of the Warriors notched at least two points. The win pushes Golden State’s record to 4-0. Next up is a battle with the Clippers at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night.
The game had a fortuitous beginning, for the Warriors at least, as Curry opened the scoring with a three-pointer. He’d later put the Dubs up 9-4 with a three-point play, but the Grizzlies would close the gap almost immediately, and things remained close for the duration of the opening quarter. Memphis closed out the first frame on a 9-2 run to take a 22-21 lead into the second quarter, at which point the game took a severely drastic turn. Brandan Wright would score Memphis’ opening basket of the second frame to regain a 24-23 advantage, but that was the last time the Grizzlies came close to even sniffing the lead. From there, Golden State would go on to outscore Memphis 30-10 through the remainder of the first half to take a convincing 53-34 lead into halftime. Then, Curry took over, yet again.
The reigning MVP provided the offense, while the Warriors defense combined to put the game out of reach. Curry notched 21 points in the third frame, single-handedly outscoring the Grizzlies by six points in the quarter. It was his third quarter with at least 21 points already this season, and the Warriors are only four games into the schedule. In total, the Dubs would outscore Memphis 40-15 in the third frame, equating to a 72-27 run since the end of the first quarter. From there, Luke Walton removed the starters and had the bench play out the remainder of the game. Ian Clark took advantage of the playing time, notching 15 points in the fourth quarter alone.
With the victory, the Warriors set a franchise-record with their 20th consecutive home win dating back to last season. The 50-point win also pushes their cumulative margin of victory on the season to precisely +100 points, establishing a new NBA record for largest positive point differential through the first four games of a season. The Dubs will look to build on the momentum in their next game on Wednesday, when they host the rival Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena.