Stephen Curry way too strong for the Grizzlies! – BasketUSA

Despite 19 losses of balls, the 19 3-pointers scored by Golden State with 47.5% success ended up making the difference against the Grizzlies who were sorely lacking in skill after the first quarter. This is the third defeat in a row for Memphis who presented to the Chase Center without his coach, Taylor Jenkins in the COVID-19 protocol, like Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Damion Lee and Mike Brown on the Warriors side.

The Grizzlies start the meeting with an insolent success. Faced with a good defense from Golden State, they scored 13 of their first 18 shots and took a ten point lead behind 24 points of the trio Ja Morant – Dillon Brooks – DeAnthony Melton (29-19). The Warriors, however, raise their heads, straddling the first and second quarter time. Their zone defense brings the Grizzlies back to earth and in the wake of Nemanja Bjelica and Stephen Curry, they pass a 14-5 to their opponent (34-33).

Without Ja Morant or Dillon Brooks, Memphis takes advantage of Golden State’s ball losses and five offensive rebounds to regain some air. Unfortunately for them, their address eludes them. They missed 19 of their 26 attempts in the second period and three award-winning shots from Kuminga, Curry and Porter Jr. kept the Warriors in ambush at the break (53-52).

While Ja Morant and Desmond Bane try to take matters into their own hands after returning from the locker room, it is Steve Kerr’s men who provide their effort. In the wake of an aggressive and skillful Stephen Curry and a Draymond Green who drives Jaren Jackon Jr. mad, the Warriors inflict a 14-4 on their opponent to go to +8 (78-70). The exit of the double MVP and Draymond Green however revive Memphis while the trio Chiozza – Toscano-Anderson – Kuminga multiply the cagades. Xavier Tillman makes a work in the racket and the Grizzlies end the quarter on a 13-6 (84-83).

Three award-winning shots from Stephen Curry and Nemanja Bjelica gave Golden State an eight-point lead but the Grizzlies took advantage of the two minutes of the double MVP on the bench to erase their delay (97-96). With four minutes to go, Curry takes matters into his own hands by scoring five straight points but three straight lost balls from the Warriors allow the Grizzlies to return to a level playing field (102-102). Memphis, however, remains silent for two minutes while Juan Toscano-Anderson, Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. chain three decisive actions to offer victory to their team.

WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER

– The Golden State defense pulls out the barbed wire. After a first quarter time where everything seemed to succeed in Memphis, whether it was near the circle, at halfway and at 3-pointers, the Warriors finally managed to dictate their law. The league’s best defense limited the Grizzlies to 7/26 on shots, or 27% success on shots. The Warriors, however, gave their opponent 9 offensive rebounds in the first half and lost 8 balls allowing Memphis to avoid attacking against a defense already in place. In the wake of Draymond Green and Kevon Lonney, Golden State was however able to rectify the situation at the start of the third quarter to take control of the match.

– Dillon Brooks will have tried everything on Stephen Curry. Throughout the game, the Grizzlies full-back touched, grabbed and “bumped” Stephen Curry. The two-time MVP responded by releasing another disconcerting performance of ease, notably using the defensive aggressiveness of his vis-à-vis him to create his own shot. If Curry showed some signs of frustration, most often against the referees, it was poor Dillon Brooks who had enough to give up as the leader of the Dubs regaled to finish the match with 46 points at 60% of successful shooting.

– The Grizzlies never defeated… or almost. This young team from Memphis continues to show that they have a strong character over and over again. On several occasions in the third and fourth quarters, she seemed on the verge of taking water under the onslaught of Golden State but, each time, she found a way to come back to the score thanks to a solid defense and Personal exploits of Ja Morant, De’Anthony Melton and Jaren Jackson Jr. They finally had to crack in the last two minutes of the meeting but this team has heart and deserves its fourth place in the Western Conference.

TOPS / FLOPS

✅ Stephen Curry. 46 points, 13 of 22 on shots, 8 of 14 on 3-pointers, what more can we say? The best shooter in history struck again when his team needed him to make up for the absences of Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole.

✅ Gary Payton II. No Wiggins, no Poole, no Lee, no problem. Gary Payton II took advantage of the attention paid to the Curry – Green duo to make the Grizzlies pay near the circle but also from afar. He finished the game with 22 points at 4/7 at 3 points, while having done a good job on Ja Morant.

✅ De’Anthony Melton. As soon as he entered the field, the sixth man of the Grizzlies put his paw on the meeting. He was extremely valuable on both sides of the field and finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds.

⛔ Ja Morant. The Grizzlies star finished top scorer (21) and best passer of his team (6) but he finished the game 6/15 on shots including 0/4 from distance. Very embarrassed by the defense of Gary Payton II, he never found his rhythm despite a resurgence of aggressiveness after the break.

THE FOLLOWING

Warriors (26-6): place at the “Christmas Game” for Golden State which will move to Phoenix without Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole or Damion Lee.

Grizzlies (19-14) : Memphis remains in California and will make the short trip to Sacramento to play the Kings on Sunday.