MEMPHIS – A rare road victory by the Warriors seemed within reach on Saturday night.
Despite playing catch-up in Memphis all night, the Warriors had the momentum of the game in their favor during periods in the second half. A reverse layup by Stephen Curry made it a two-point game early in the fourth inning. But the Warriors’ shooting would go cold and the Grizzlies got their way. Memphis went on a 15-3 run to take a 123-109 lead with 5:39 remaining in the fourth.
Coach Steve Kerr talked about putting together strong defensive displays for longer stretches. But the Warriors again failed to do so in their 133-119 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
With the loss, the Warriors dropped their 11th straight game and fell back to .500, where they have hung most of their season. They also dropped to sixth in the Western Conference standings.
Nothing is easy for this Golden State team, especially on the road. The Warriors had their defensive anchor Draymond Green back after he served a one-game suspension on Friday for committing 16 technical fouls. But with Andrew Wiggins (family issue) and Gary Payton II (core injury) sidelined indefinitely, the Warriors continue to struggle to stop.
The Grizzlies took advantage of the visitor’s poor defense to lead by as much as 15 points in the second quarter. The Grizzlies shot 44.9% from the field and 12-of-19 from deep in the first half. Meanwhile, except for Jonathan Kuminga who had a game-high of 15 points at the time, the Warriors struggled to get going and trailed by 12 heading into the locker room.
Showing signs of life in the third, the Warriors went on an inspired 22-9 run to cut the Grizzlies’ lead to four with 7:27 remaining in the third.
But Memphis fired back from a timeout and went on a 10-0 run to bid themselves bye once again. But the Grizzlies also got careless, sending the Warriors to the line 19 times in the third. Jordan Poole provided a spark in the third inning, scoring 17 of his 21 runs in that stanza. At one point, he scored the Warriors’ 12 consecutive points.
The chippiness was turned up a notch in the fourth. With the game tied, Dillon Brooks snapped at Klay Thompson after knocking down a 3 to put the Grizzlies up 111-106. The Warriors would get close, but could never get over the hump.
Kuminga finished with a team-high 24 points to go on his eight rebounds and three assists.
The Warriors travel to Houston on Monday to play against the Rockets.
