The Golden State Warriors picked up right where they left off in the second round of the Playoffs, taking care of the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 101-86 behind yet another brilliant Stephen Curry performance (22 points, 7 assists.)
With an injured Mike Conley looking on, Curry ran circles around the Grizzlies’ guards and stayed mostly in distributor mode during the series-opening victory.
The Dubs overwhelmed Memphis with their depth—five different Warriors scored in double-digits.
Per the SF Chronicle:
“Well, we need everybody to play well,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re not going to get the whole group playing at a high level individually every single night, but if they’re all competing, we’ll find enough guys to play well.” […] The Warriors’ bench outscored the Memphis reserves 30-21, and the Warriors got a variety of contributions on an afternoon when Stephen Curry — who is expected to be named the league’s MVP this week, perhaps as soon as Monday — and Klay Thompson combined for 40 points on 16-for-34 shooting.
“You’ve got to give them credit,” Memphis head coach Dave Joerger said. “They got the loose balls, they used their athleticism, they turned us over and they had high hands on pocket passes and second passes that got deflections.” […] The Warriors have won 21 consecutive games at Oracle Arena, dating to Jan. 27. They’ll have home-court advantage in all postseason series, which has to have opponents shuddering at the Warriors’ 42-2 record there.
(Andrew) Bogut and (Draymond) Green each picked up his fourth personal foul within a 23-second span of the third quarter and went to the bench with the Warriors leading 74-60. But with back-to-back three-pointers from Thompson and Curry, the Warriors were able to boost their lead to 83-66 heading into the fourth quarter. […] “That was probably the biggest stretch of the game, when Draymond and Andrew both got their fourth,” Kerr said. “…That’s the luxury we have with our team. We have a lot of depth, and in this series in particular, we’re probably going to have to use it because those guys draw a lot of fouls down there.”
