ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Memphis Grizzlies at the Golden State Warriors, Game 5 of the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals.
The Warriors took a 49-41 lead into the third quarter. Harrison Barnes, who had slipped late in the 2nd quarter, seemed to be okay.
3RD QUARTER: Not Enough Offense For Memphis
Klay Thompson made a jumper out of the gate, but Zach Randolph (aka “Z-Bo”) and Jeff Green, who started in place of the injured Tony Allen, answered back with buckets for the Grizzlies.
However, things started to sway towards the Warriors’ style of play as Andrew Bogut made a hustle play to tap an offensive rebound out and, on the ensuing broken play, Stephen Curry was wide open on the right side, let Jeff Green fly by on the lunge-out, but back-rimmed the triple.
Even after Jeff Green got a banker from a left high post against Curry, Barnes found Draymond cutting for an easy layup on the right side, then after Gasol missed a jumper on the left side, Steph found Draymond again, leaking early, and Memphis head coach Dave Joerger took a timeout with 8:50 to go in the third and the Warriors up 55-45.
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But Golden State kept its foot on the gas pedal, as Barnes hit a three while backing up a step after Draymond attacked Z-Bo from the top and dished out.
Conley accidentally threw a pass of the back of Gasol’s head and Steph was the alert one, grabbing the loose ball off the carom. Curry drew a blocking foul, and on the sideout, Thompson drove in with the left hand from the right side and threw an alley-oop lob to Bogut.
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Steph added a three-pointer after that.
Curry then stole a bad pass by Grizzlies backup point guard Nick Calathes and threw a touchdown pass to a streaking Andre Iguodala, slamming the ball with over Mike Conley, who was the only Grizzly to race back.
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After Gasol missed a deep two-pointer from the right elbow, Klay took the defensive board upcourt, backed in Calathes from the left block, passed it out to Festus Ezeli, who passed it back down to Thompson, and Klay made a turnaround fade over Calathes to put the Warriors up, 72-55, with 2:43 remaining.
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During the whole period, the Grizzlies’ offense consisted of Conley and Gasol, with Randolph and Jeff Green providing the first two buckets of the quarter for Memphis.
As Jeff Green missed another shot, a three-pointer from the left wing, Curry got the rebound, scissored around Calathes into the paint, missed the scoop, but Iguodala slammed home the putback with two hands, with Ezeli attacking the offensive rebound as well.
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The third frame ended shortly thereafter with the Warriors up, 74-57. Curry led all scorers with 18 points on 6-for-13 downtown, Barnes added 14 points, Klay 10, while Conley had 13, Z-Bo 13, and Gasol 14.
During the intermission, Floyd Mayweather was shown on the jumbotron and drew boos.
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4TH QUARTER: More Iron Unkind For Memphis
Golden State poured it on in the 4th, as Iguodala drilled a three-pointer from the left elbow, assisted by Thompson, although it was answered right back with a Vince Carter triple, then Draymond found a cutting David Lee for an easy layup.
After Jeff Green missed a runner going left side bank, Klay splashed a trey from the deep right wing, fed by Draymond…
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…and as Iguodala turned around to go play defense, was met at halfcourt by Curry, who had jumped off the bench in anticipation of a Grizzlies timeout, which was indeed called.
It was Draymond’s seventh assist of the night and the Warriors’ cushion reached 20 points, 82-62, with 10:04 left.
Beno Udrih got a corner three to go out of the timeout, but the Warriors went on another mini-run, as Lee got another layup on a cut, this time assisted by Iguodala.
Shaun Livingston took Udrih to the baseline and drained a stop-and-pop, then stole a bad entry pass from Carter to Gasol, led the break, found D.Lee on the trail, who then made a touch pass to Iguodala streaking on the right side for a two-handed jam.
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The lead was back up to twenty, 88-68, with 6:57 to play.
The Grizzlies missed on their end again, Thompson got the rebound, dribbled past halfcourt toward the left arc, rose up for a shot, drawing contact as Calathes tried to get around a pick, and connected on the long-distance running jumper.
The officials reviewed the replay and awarded Klay with a three-pointer. He hit the and-one for a four-point play and the Warriors sported a 92-68 lead with 6:31 remaining.
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Carter committed a traveling violation after that, to Draymond’s delight.
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Thompson turned the ball over on another over-zealous dribbling play, Courtney Lee made a trey, Draymond picked up his 4th personal, and Warriors head coach re-inserted Curry at the 4:19 mark, but the Grizzlies couldn’t hit the ocean as Gasol and Z-Bo missed again, and Memphis was running out of time.
Kerr took a timeout to empty the bench with 2:44 remaining and Golden State still up by twenty, 94-74, and Justin Holiday, Leandro Barbosa, and James McAdoo came in for mop-up work.
D.Lee eventually exited to a loud ovation with 2:12 remaining as Ezeli returned, and Brandon Rush spelled Livingston to close things out. True to form, McAdoo hit two buckets before the buzzer sounded.
The final score was 98-78, Warriors, as Klay led the way with 21 points, 5 assists. Curry had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists. Barnes had his 14, and Iguodala tallied 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting, 2-for-3 downtown, off the bench. Draymond collected 7 points, 9 assists, and 5 rebounds.
Gasol had 18-and-12 and Z-Bo 13-and-10 in defeat, but other than Conley’s 13 points, the Grizzlies scored just 34 points among the other ten players that saw action.
Game 6 is in Memphis in two nights.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @iamawarren)
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