The Golden State Warriors were at FedExForum to face the Memphis Grizzlies, seeking revenge for an earlier season loss. The Grizzlies remained the only team in the NBA that the Warriors had not beaten this year.
One of the highly anticipated matchups was between former Michigan State University power forwards, Draymond Green and Zach Randolph.
Both teams were at full strength. Ognjen Kuzmic was still on assignment at Santa Cruz.
1ST QUARTER: Conley Keeps Grizzlies Close
Both teams came out shooting very well, even as the Warriors gave the Grizzlies different looks off the bat against the vaunted Memphis frontline of Randolph and Marc Gasol. In fact, Green started on Gasol and Bogut on Randolph on the first possession and they would often switch back and forth.
Klay Thompson missed his first shot, but was in a groove shortly after that, mishandling a catch down low from Stephen Curry, but recovering to turn around and get a little jumper over Gasol.
Later on, he got a dribble-catch-pop from beyond the arc on the right elbow to fall, as Andrew Bogut supplied the screen to free him up.
Green was scoring early as well, running a pick-and-roll with Curry, then slipping into the paint as Steph wheeled around and delivered a precision-perfect pass with the left hand.
Previously, Green also took Randolph from left to right into the paint, made an upfake, got contact on the body by “Z-Bo”, and converted the layup, but missed the and-one free throw.
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However, Draymond also committed his second personal foul as Gasol posted. Green had also picked up a foul in the paint bodying up Randolph, but with too much contact as Randolph crossed the paint.
Klay got another trey when Curry and David Lee, who got the call off the bench to replace Draymond, set a double-pick and Bogut delivered another assist.
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Thompson would force a jump ball as Gasol posted up the smaller Lee, one of several instances where the Warriors’ team defense was humming.
However, during this entire time, Mike Conley was on fire for Memphis. An array of jumpshots, pull-ups, and three-pointers totaling 9 points in the first six minutes of play had the Grizzlies close, 16-13, with 5:47 to go in the opening frame.
Klay somehow won the tip against Gasol and that effort paid immediate dividends as Lee this time found Thompson for a catch-and-shoot triple from the left elbow.
After Conley drilled another (!) trey, Curry drew a bunch of attention on an up cut and Lee flashed to the middle, got the ball, absorbed the bump, and made a little righty hook shot for the and-one.
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Curry then played “tic-tac-toe” with Leandro Barbosa, who had subbed in for Thompson, and Bogut, as Barbosa got open underneath after Curry was doubled up top on a pick-and-roll with Bogut. As Bogut slipped down the lane, Leandro got him the ball for a pretty layup.
After a missed reverse dunk by Andre Iguodala, who seemed to have slipped on the step…
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…Jeff Green missed a jumper, Curry took the rebound, led the break, and found Barbosa cutting to the rim on the left side for an easy layup.
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Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger called timeout and Golden State had taken a 26-18 lead with 2:59 remaining in the first quarter.
After Jeff Green powered an impressive, athletic bankshot over Bogut, followed by a dunk by Gasol on a break after Iguodala missed a three, Iguodala set a side pick for Curry, who drained the left corner trey after Bogut swung the ball…
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…Steph then added another one from downtown, dribbling to the right elbow, pivoting, and converting the shot from beyond the arc.
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That gave the Warriors a 31-22 lead, but Gasol duped the referees into a call on the post versus Festus Ezeli, pulling down Ezeli but feigning contact, in essence “pulling the chair” in reverse (amazingly), and got two made free throws out of it.
Golden State took a 31-24 lead into the second period.
2ND QUARTER: Warriors Take Advantage Of Grizzlies Miscues
Early on, Barbosa had a nice block of Courtney Lee, running back on the fast break.
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The Warriors’ second unit was sloppy on offense, but luckily for them, none of the turnovers really hurt them. Barbosa was careless as the ball slipped out of his hands, but there were two passes by Shaun Livingston that were just plain bad.
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Jeff Green continued to exert his physical dominance, as Harrison Barnes was forced to guard him with Draymond saddled with the two early fouls.
But when Draymond checkedback in with about eight minutes to go, Jeff drew another foul in the block. It was a questionable call, with Draymond being called for too much contact with his hands. Barnes came back in as Draymond took another seat on the bench.
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Jeff was a lot to handle, as even when he wasn’t drawing fouls, or getting jump hooks, he was making quick spins in the post and drew a goaltending on a late-helping Marreese Speights.
With 6:54 to go in the half, Golden State held a 39-31 lead.
Memphis closed the lead to 42-41 with 3:47 remaining, as Curry lost a dribble, getting the ball tangled with Bogut’s feet on a pick-and-roll, then losing the subsequent jumpball to Tony Allen, followed by Bogut making a bad between-the-legs reverse pass to Steph, resulting in a run-out Conley steal and layup.
But then the Grizzlies made a couple of defensive lapses, as Allen forgot to cover Thompson on a side out and had no choice but to foul Klay under the hoop…
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…then Conley inexplicably doubled on Livingston up top as the shotclock was winding down for the Warriors, leaving Curry for a wide-open trey from the right corner.
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Klay and Jeff Green traded three-pointers, but Steph delivered a beautiful bounce pass to the dangerously nearby Lee, who cut when the Grizzlies doubled Curry, getting a nice righty dunk and the Warriors a lead of 49-45 with just 1:42 left.
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Randolph had a tough outing, going just 2-for-6 up until this point, but he kept “pounding the rock”, getting disrupted by Bogut, but then persevering, but Curry came back with a dribble drive penetration plus a bump that wasn’t called, then Thompson stripped Allen on a catch of a pass in the paint and Vince Carter ended up fouling Steph on the ensuing fastbreak layup.
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But Conley answered back one last time, getting a step-back jumper before the buzzer after crossing over the taller Barnes, and Golden State took a 54-49 lead into halftime.
Conley led all scorers with 16 points on 7-for-9 field, 2-for-3 downtown, but the Warriors were led by Curry with 15 points (5-for-11) and Thompson with 14 (5-for-8). Steph added 6 assists.
The Warriors were out-rebounded just 20-16 and assisted on 16 of their 20 made field goals, while the Grizzlies assisted on just 9 of their 20 buckets. Draymond played just 4:42.
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