ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Memphis Grizzlies at the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors took a 53-34 lead into the second half.
3rd Quarter – On Another Level, Squared
The Warriors played the first half as if they were on another level against a quality opponent in the Grizzlies. Yet, in the third period, Golden State went to an even higher level than that.
It was highlight after highlight, and here they were:
- Stephen Curry got going with an in-transition three fed by Draymond Green:
- Draymond Green had two running alley-oops for Festus Ezeli one-handed slams that would remind Lob City fans of Chris Paul feeding DeAndre Jordan (okay, bad analogy!).
- Steph picked Tony Allen clean as he tried to dribble into the paint. On the break, Curry delivered a long bounce pass to Klay Thompson, who streaked in for a finger roll.
Steph with the strip and assist! https://t.co/xv3lyf7Qfu
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 3, 2015
- Draymond made a step-back three from the top over Jeff Green, which put the Warriors up by thirty, 70-40, with 7:23 to play.
- Curry then got back-to-back steals. The first had Courtney Lee valiantly chasing from behind. Curry sensed the pursuit, drew contact, and made a reverse layup in which he put a left-handed reverse English off the board. He also got fouled:
- The second steal was a pass from Marc Gasol up top to Mike Conley. Curry read the pass and tapped the ball for a fastbreak, then with Jeff Green defending, Steph went up and under, swooping by the hoop and making another high-degree-of-difficulty banker.
Leandro Barbosa celebrated in his unique way:
- Lee missed a jumper, Klay Thopmson snagged the board, threw a touchdown pass to Draymond near the Warriors’ basket. Green then found Curry in the right corner. Steph side-stepped the helpless Matt Barnes and made another triple from the right wing.
- Curry then blocked a running attempt in the lane by Lee, Iguodala led the break, saw Steph a split-second late on another touchdown pass, fired it to Curry In the right corner anyways, and Steph corralled the dart, retreated one step with one dribble and nailed the three.
- Iguodala made a fabulous spin to retrieve a loose ball, led the transition sequence, shoveled to Curry for a heat-check, and Steph got fouled beyond the arc by Matt Barnes, then made all three free throws to double the Grizzlies point total at 84-42 with still 4:28 remaining in the quarter. At this juncture, Golden State interim head coach Luke Walton replaced Ezeli with James McAdoo. Ezeli had amassed 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
- Steph got free in the paint and rattled in a short jumper for his 29th and 30th points on the night.
- A missed three by Matt Barnes led to a long rebound which Curry tracked down. Running the break, Steph wrapped the ball around his waist for an incredible bounce pass to a streaking McAdoo for the dunk, with the foul by Lee, although McAdoo missed the free throw. That put the Warriors up, 88-44:
Shaun Livingston, Leandro Barbosa, Iguodala, Marreese Speights, and McAdoo.
The Warriors ended the quarter up, 93-49.
4th Quarter – Racking Up Points In Mop-Up Duty
Ian Clark collected 15 points in garbage time, Jason Thompson got his first dunk with the Warriors, and Brandon Rush got on the board with two free throws.
Golden State, now 4-0, demolished Memphis, now 2-2, by fifty, 119-69. It was the Warriors’ 20th consecutive regular season win at home.
Curry’s 30 points were efficient again on 10-for-16 field, 4-for-8 downtown, and 3 steals in just 28 minutes of play.
The Warriors face the Los Angeles Clippers in two nights at Oracle Arena.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @yekhirbietomak)
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