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| Curry and his team mate and Warriors staff |
Memphis Grizzlies vs Golden State Warriors
The Memphis Grizzlies pushed Golden State hard in the second half, but the Warriors proved to be too much in the end. The Dubs won Game 6, 108-95, on Friday night at the FedEx Forum, clinching the series, 4-2, in the process and advancing to the Western Conference finals.
The difference in the two teams was evident when
looking at the disparity between their respective efforts behind the arc
Friday. Golden State shot 15-of-32 from deep, which was just one made three shy
of tying the franchise playoff record, per GSWStats. On
the other side, Memphis was a paltry 4-of-16.
ESPN's Marc Stein observed that the Grizzlies' lack of
three-point shooting is a major Achilles' heel:
Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN believes Golden State's three-point shooting
changed the complexion of the series:
Stephen Curry led the way with 32 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.Klay Thompson added 20 points and eight rebounds of his
own.
Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined to score 36 points for Memphis, but their
12-of-37 showing from the floor illustrated how tough a night they had. Mike Conley also had a subpar performance, shooting 3-of-13 for 11
points.
After going down, 2-1, in the series, the Warriors
awoke in Games 4 and 5. They beat Memphis by a total of 37 points in those two
contests, reversing that 2-1 series deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Heading into Game 6, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr
credited a renewed focus on defense for the turnaround, per Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News:
The
Grizzlies had about the worst start imaginable Friday night, as they fell
behind, 32-19, after the first quarter. Stein wondered whether Memphis' dearth
of perimeter shooting meant the team was essentially dead in the water after
digging itself such a deep hole:
Then Memphis exploded for 30 points in the second quarter. The Grizzlies gave
up 26 points in the period, but still, going into halftime down nine points was
better than things looked after the opening 12 minutes.
Courtney Lee's buzzer-beater to end the second quarter
also gave the home team some momentum heading into the locker room:
However,
the Grizzlies were down a big piece to start the second half after ESPN's
Heather Cox reported Tony Allen would be unable to return to the game, via
ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne. JessicaCamerato of Basketball
Insiders struggled to think of a way for Memphis head coach Dave Joerger to compensate for Allen's absence:
As ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton noted, however, Allen's offensive shortcomings dragged
the Grizzlies down more in the first half than his defensive work lifted them
up:
Without Allen clogging things up on the offensive end, Memphis climbed to
within a point in the third quarter but never managed to take the lead. Jeff
Green twice made it a one-point game before the Warriors found a little more
breathing room.
The final sequence of the third quarter was one of the
most significant, and controversial, plays of the game. With his team down
five, Green attempted a last-second heave from beyond the three-point line, but Andre Iguodala got the block. Green
looked for a foul call which would have put him on the line for three shots,
but none came. Then Curry quickly grabbed the loose ball and drained a three at
the buzzer from his own half, via the NBA:
Grantland's
Bill Barnwell joked that Memphis
should've gotten a hand in Curry's face, even from that ridiculous range:
That play represented a potential six-point swing. Instead of pulling within
two points of Golden State going into the fourth quarter, Memphis was down
eight.
Curry's shot seemed to erase whatever belief remained
in the Memphis players and crowd. The Warriors quickly gained a 15-point
advantage, 85-70, to start the fourth quarter.
The deficit was an especially bad omen for Memphis, as
ESPN's AminElhassan noted
that Golden State doesn't regularly squander big leads:
Memphis didn't stop fighting in the fourth, but the home team simply had too
tall a mountain to climb in too little time. The Grizzlies couldn't put
together enough of a sustained run to seriously flirt with a comeback.
Instead, it's another strong win on the road for the
Warriors. Now they can turn their focus to the conference finals, where they
will get either the Los Angeles Clippers or Houston Rockets.
Golden State entered the postseason as the favorite to
win the NBA title, and the team remains in that position after finding its
groove against Memphis. When the Warriors are on their game—as they were in
their last three wins—there simply isn't a better team in the league.
The Warriors have the kind of balance other teams can
only hope to achieve, and the notion that they might be overwhelmed by the
occasion seems to be truly dispelled.
Memphis, meanwhile, will have to do some
soul-searching. Gasol is an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and even if
the Grizzlies are able to re-sign him, they have to make serious strides
offensively. You can't win in today's NBA without the threat of a three-point
game.
If they fail to address that weakness, they'll almost
certainly have a first- or second-round ceiling in the playoffs again next
year.
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