In a battle of elite point guards, Stephen Curry poured on 52 points lead the Golden State Warriors past the stumbling Grizzlies 134-225 at the FedExForum on Tuesday, March 1.
The Warriors’ fourth quarter comeback bookended a 45-32 lead the conference foe built in the first quarter.
Additionally, Curry’s output follows a two-point effort against the Grizzlies earlier this season. It also overshadowed a season-high 36 point effort from Grizzlies counterpart Ja Morant.
“We have to find a way to get a win. Do the stuff that was working for us for 48 minutes,” said Morant.
Golden State outscored Memphis 31-22 in the fourth quarter, after both teams entered the final period locked in a 103-103 tie.
The Warriors grabbed the lead for the final time on a pair of free-throws by forward Jimmy Butler. The second made shot from the charity strip put Golden State up 123-122 with 2:24 left on the clock. The Warriors outscored Memphis 11-3 in the final minutes of play. Morant sank a three-point shot to pull the Grizzlies to 130-125. It was their final score. Butler and Curry iced the game from the free-throw line.
The latter hit 16-31 shots from the field, including 12-20 beyond the arc. Curry also stuffed the stat sheet with 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals. Butler scored 27 points, along with six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Curry also passed Jerry West on the all-time scoring list during the game. He is now 25th with 25,505 career points. Furthermore, the last player to post 50 points, 10 rebound game was Koke Bryant in 2008.
Warriors veteran forward Draymond Green netted a triple-double with 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
Morant evened the score with 9:22 left in the third quarter on an extra point, after being fouled on a 21-foot jumpshot. The Grizzlies grabbed their first lead a few minutes later, on a basket by Jaren Jackson Jr. in the post. The score put Memphis up 85-84. A floater in the lane by Scottie Pippen Jr. would increase the lead to 90-86. It was short-lived.
A three-point shot by Curry with 5:22 left in the quarter evened the score 91-91. Both teams would trade leads the remainder of the period.
Morant converted 14-22 field goals, including 5-8 from deep. He also added six assists. Jackson notched 22 points and seven rebounds. Rookie center Zach Edey pitched a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Santi Aldama scored 18 points off the bench. Pippen also added 10 in reserve.
“We have to figure the positives from this and bounce back and go on the road and three or four. We can ride that wave of momentum and think forward,” said Jackson.
The loss was Tuomas Iisalo’ third as interim head coach. He remains winless after being named as Taylor Jenkins replacement on Friday, March 28.
“We need to find a way to be a little bit better. The beginning of the game was not great for us. We did not go a great job of presenting or executing the game plan. It is very hard to ask anymore from these guys. They are leaving it all out on the floor,” said Iisalo.
The Grizzlies’ record falls to 44-32. With six games remaining on their 2024-25 schedule, they are currently in a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference standings with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The teams hold a half game lead over the eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers.
They are also 2-8 in the last 10 games. A post-All Star game swoon not only led to a coaching change, but also puts them in danger of becoming a play-in tournament team. Teams that finish 7-10 in the standing play one game in a tournament in a fight for the seventh and eighth playoff spots. It begins on April 15.
Memphis’ record was 36-18 at the All-Star break in mid-February. They have gone 8-14 since.
Following a three-game road trip that begins in Miami on Wednesday, April 2 the Grizzlies will return to the FedExForum to host the Timberwolves on Thursday, April 10. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
