The Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116, securing the seventh seed in the Western Conference. The Warriors first Play-In Tournament victory ensured they would reach the playoffs and avoid a win-or-go-home matchup against the Kings later in the week. While the Dubs have arguably had more rotation iterations than any other postseason bound team, with their backs against the wall, it was the obvious answers who delivered: Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry.
Butler has consistently deferred offensively since arriving in Golden State. When he first arrived, Brandin Podziemski’s breakout alongside a hot stretch of shooting by Moses Moody and Gary Payton II covered up Butler’s lessened scoring impact. The prospect of Jonathan Kuminga returning from an injury to provide even more scoring spark made it seem like the Warriors maybe would not need Butler to be previous iterations of himself.
Of course, over the past couple of weeks, Moody and Payton entered massive shooting slumps while Kuminga never meshed with the new iteration of the Dubs and has been benched by head coach Steve Kerr. Podziemski’s breakout remained, but it was not enough to withstand a general offensive collapse. The Warriors would need Butler.
After a 30-point game against the Clippers in Golden State’s final game of the regular season, Butler took his performance to another level. He attacked the paint relentlessly, scoring 34 points in the first three quarters alone. While he had some uncharacteristic struggles at the free-throw line, he made up for it with a pair of made threes.
With Butler leading the way, Curry delivered a mixed performance. He showcased some incredible shotmaking and made all nine of his free-throw attempts, but also was a relatively inefficient shooter from the field. Early on, Quinten Post and Payton made several threes to help push the Warriors ahead.
The Warriors built a 20-point lead by the second quarter, but Curry entered a cold stretch and Butler was the only player consistently generating offense. Podziemski, who has been a pivotal third scorer recently, started 1-for-7 from the field. That left space for a Grizzlies counterattack.
Memphis’ core trio Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. led the way offensively. All three finished the game with at least 18 points. Morant rolled his ankle late in the third quarter, but the Grizzlies have proved throughout the season that they could withstand an absence from the former number two overall pick. When he returned, the game was still neck-and-neck.
The Warriors led 111-109 with four minutes left in regulation. Golden State had led for the vast majority of the contest, but the Dubs were showing their age, and Kerr’s heavily shortened rotation had clearly taken a toll. The Grizzlies had several opportunities to tie things up.
A deep three from Bane went in-and-out, Zach Edey missed a free throw, and Morant had a terrible passing turnover. Eventually, Curry got free on the other end and made a three in the final two minutes, extending the Warriors lead to five. A dunk by Edey made it a one-possession game once again, but Steph answered with a 26-footer as the clock reached the final minute.
A bad foul by Draymond Green, his sixth of the game, left him unavailable in the final minute and put Bane at the line for two easy points. The Warriors chewed up clock on the other end, but Butler threw the ball away. Scottie Pippen Jr. went the other way in transition and Podziemski nearly had a game-saving block. He was called for a foul instead and the Dubs did not have a challenge to force a review.
Pippen split the free throws. So, the Warriors had the ball with 36.7 seconds remaining and a 117-114 lead. After letting the clock run down, Curry drove inside and missed a floater. In the ensuing fight for the rebound, a bad loose-ball foul on Kevon Looney put Edey at the line. He made both free throws and the Dubs only led by a point.
Strong defense by the Grizzlies and a bad decision by Curry to pick up his dribble along the sideline forced Kerr to use his final timeout with 10.5 seconds remaining. Morant knocked the ball away from Curry, but it was knocked out of bounds. By the time Curry was fouled, there was only 5.4 seconds left on the clock. He made both free throws and the Grizzlies used their final timeout to advance the ball to half court.
With a three-point lead, would the Warriors intentionally foul? It’s no secret that this exact circumstance has been one of Kerr’s teams biggest weaknesses in recent years. How would their defense respond?
They locked down.
The Warriors forced a five-second violation and the Grizzlies comeback chances were over.
Butler finished 38 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and just 2 turnovers on 12-for-20 shooting from the field (although he was just 12-for-18 from the free-throw line). Curry nearly matched his co-star, recording 37 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 turnover on 9-for-22 shooting from the field (13-for-13 from the line).
Payton (12) and Post (11) were the only other Warriors who finished in double figures.
The Warriors will now enjoy a few days off and prepare to play the two-seed Houston Rockets in a best-of-seven series starting this weekend. Curry and Butler were enough to advance on Tuesday night, but Golden State will need greater offensive contributions from the supporting cast if they are going to win a playoff series.
