In a battle between teams lacking players, the Golden State Warriors came back from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-113, improving their season record to 29-25. There’s no doubt they were helped by the Grizzlies’ clear desire to tank, but the Dubs found a way to win without Stephen Curry nonetheless.
The Grizzlies took an early 17-7 lead as Golden State’s starters struggled to find their offensive rhythm. Brandin Podzemski and Al Horford provided a much-needed spark to get the Dubs back on track. At the end of the first quarter, both teams had scored 32 points.
Memphis slowly began to pull away, largely helped by the Warriors’ high turnovers (the Warriors finished the game with 23 turnovers). Draymond Green scored 14 points, thanks in large part to his strong outside shooting, but he gave up more points offensively, likely due to seven turnovers. The struggle to not give up possession continued throughout the season. Without Stephen Curry on the floor to help in relief, the mistake was only compounded.
Former Warriors two-way guard Ty Jerome led the way and appeared to be playing with an extra burden on his shoulders. Perhaps Jerome will remember that Golden State opted to convert another two-way player (Anthony Lamb) to an NBA contract in his place for the 2022-23 season. Jerome led the Grizzlies to a 16-point lead through the third quarter, posting a team-high 19 points, seven assists, and a +15 plus/minus.
However, the Grizzlies are looking to move down the standings after trading Jaren Jackson Jr. at the deadline. Although the commissioner’s office has refused to enforce the no-vehicle rule, Memphis (following the Utah Jazz earlier in the day) sat its best player in the fourth quarter even as Golden State began making stop after stop.
The Warriors were finally able to make solid defensive stops in the fourth quarter, and began to gradually narrow Memphis’ lead. Notably, most of the comeback took place with Green on the bench.
Horford made a layup with less than five minutes left to cut the deficit to eight points. On the ensuing possession, Gui Santos made an open three to make it a five-point lead. Another stop turned into a layup by De’Anthony Melton in transition. Another stop answered with a driving layup by Moses Moody. Podzemski stole the Grizzlies’ inbounds pass immediately after Moody’s make, but missed a layup that would have given Golden State a 114-113 lead.
Instead, both teams found themselves unable to score in the final two minutes until a chaotic sequence at the end.
Horford misses a shot that hits the post with 26 seconds left. After a failed tip-in attempt, he managed to catch his mistake but fell to the floor. When his upper body floated out of bounds, Santos was far enough behind the nearest Grizzlies defender to sneak to the hoop for a go-ahead layup.
The Grizzlies tried to regain the lead with 19 seconds left, but ended up missing two shots.
Pat Spencer finished the game with 17 points and 7 assists. Moody quietly scored 15 points and did most of his damage at the free throw line. Santos continued to impress as a starter, posting 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and a +11 plus/minus on 7-of-10 field goals in 30 minutes. Potts also added 16 points off the bench. But Horford was the hero of the night.
Horford provided stability in the post as Green lost control. He filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds, six assists, one steal and a game-high +24 plus/minus in 26 minutes. Santos was the winner with a rebound and an assist at the end.