ORACLE ARENA, OAKLAND, CA — Three nights after winning their record-tying 72nd game of the 2015-16 season, the Golden State Warriors (72-9) hosted the Memphis Grizzlies (42-39) in an attempt to achieve #QuestFor73, their 73rd win to one-up the historic Chicago Bulls, who finished 72-10 in the 1995-96 season.
The Warriors were without Kevon Looney (hip). The depleted Grizzlies were without Jordan Adams (right knee surgery), Mike Conley (left Achilles tendinitis), Marc Gasol (right foot fracture), and Brandan Wright (right MCL sprain). Tony Allen (sore left hamstring) was listed as questionable.
1st Quarter – Steph Flurry
Eight threes shy of 400, Stephen Curry missed his first try but swished two in a row after that, one in transition delivered by Draymond Green after Zach Randolph missed a running hook, and the next on a catch-and-shoot again assisted by Green, on early offense after Vince Carter drilled a triple.
Later, Curry found Green on a touchdown pass after Randolph made a lefty layup, then Andrew Bogut forced Randolph into a pivot travel, getting stuck in the lane. Steph took advantage with an upfake and a drive to the lane past Carter, with a dunk attempt slapped by Matt Barnes to send Curry to the line for the automatic two free throws.
Jordan Farmar missed a trey, Andre Iguodala found Klay Thompson on a cut to the hole, and Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger called timeout as the Warriors went ahead, 18-14, with 5:41 remaining.
Out of the timeout, Steph pulled up from deep up top after he got the rebound of a Carter missed jumper, then Bogut swatted a Lance Stephenson drive and Curry got a catch-and-shoot triple fed by Draymond in transition.
Steph wasn’t done. Randolph missed again from the left elbow, Curry brought the ball down, crossed Xavier Munford from left to right behind-the-back, and pulled up again, forcing Joerger to call another timeout as Golden State’s lead suddenly swelled to 27-16 with 3:47 to play.
Out of the timeout, Carter missed again, and Curry — as he told reporters last week saying what would happen if he got close to 400 — “chucked” a brick from distance, barely grazing the rim, early in the shotclock.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr took a cautionary timeout with 2:50 to go to preempt any “lunacy”.
Festus Ezeli came in and promptly scored a jump hook inside, Shaun Livingston added one of his own shortly thereafter, then Curry notched his 398th triple of the season as he caught an inbound baseline play from Iguodala, with Ezeli supplying the monster off-ball pick on Munford to spring Steph loose on the left arc.
Curry tried one more three on the last possession, but was short from deep straightaway, but Ezeli was there for the tip-in with 6.2 seconds left and the Warriors took a commanding 37-22 lead after one.
2nd Quarter – Chuckin’ for 400
Ezeli got the Warriors off to a great start with an alley-oop dished by LIvingston.
Later, Marreese Speights hit a step-back jumper to give Golden State a 50-32 lead with 7:30 remaining.
Barnes had a potential #BlackFalcon drive stripped, but the Grizzlies’ alley-oop attempt to JaMychal Green went awry, Speights picked up the loose ball, and Thompson drilled a catch-and-shoot triple from the right wing, and Joerger took another timeout.
The Warriors’ lead was 53-37 with 5:47 to play.
Curry came back in after the timeout, Jarell Martin lost the ball to Speights, who outlet to Draymond and ran the floor, ultimately rewarded with a Draymond-to-Mo alley-oop.
Klay added a stepping-back-while-catching trey from the right arc, Draymond’s sixth assist, then another catch-and-shoot worth three points from the same angle, and Golden State’s lead bulged to 61-41 with 4:03 to go.
Memphis missed again to go just 17-for-44 (38.6%), and on the ensuing early offense, Iguodala motored forward with Barnes along for the ride. Iguodala used Harrison as interference to sling a bouncer to a wide-open Curry from the right arc, practically walking into the three.
Swish! Number 399 was history.
Steph was now 7-for-11 from beyond the arc, and Joerger burned another timeout as the Warriors’ lead stayed at twenty, 64-44.
Not to be outdone by his “Sibling Of Splash”, Klay later hit a triple after some good ball movement in which four Warriors touched the ball. The delivery was Curry’s fourth assist, a cross-court zinger from one wing to the awaiting Thompson at the other.
Despite the three-point bonanza for the #SplashBrothers, the Warriors’ offensive motion machine was still in full effect as Iguodala let Thompson cut through, only to find Curry on a near-parallel, delayed cut for the easy layup, embarrassing the Grizzlies’ defense.
To no one’s surprise, Steph tried to head to the locker room with 400 already in-hand. Randolph missed an open three, Draymond rebounded, found Curry on the trail, but Steph’s trey attempt from the deep right arc was short.
The Warriors got the rebounded, recycled the ball up top to Green, and Draymond lobbed a risky cross-court pass to reload to Curry, but after crossing the rotating Randolph right-to-left for more space, came up short again at the buzzer.
And with that, Golden State took a 70-50 lead into halftime.
Curry led all scorers with 25 points on 8-for-14 field, 7-for-13 downtown, plus 4 assists, while Klay added 16 points on 4-for-7 from deep, and Green tallied 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Randolph led Memphis with 12 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @justincwhite25)
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