Defense, threes, and a big win

Golden State has another winning streak at long last.

For the first time since November 22, the Golden State Warriors have a winning streak. Despite the absence of Steph Curry, the Dubs exacted revenge on the Memphis Grizzlies, the team that beat them in embarrassing fashion a few weeks ago.

The Warriors couldn’t return the favor with a blowout of their own, but they did seem in control for the bulk of the game, against a Grizzlies team that was once again playing without Ja Morant, and won 121-113.

After allowing a Memphis bucket in the opening seconds, the Warriors rattled off threes on their first three possessions, with two from Dennis Schröder bookending one from Draymond Green. That led to a very early Taylor Jenkins timeout, but it didn’t change the momentum: on Memphis’ ensuing inbounds, a stellar defensive possession by Green forced an eight-second violation, which led to a three by Buddy Hield, capping a 12-0 run.

But then Memphis figured it out. Golden State’s offense went both cold and sloppy, and the Grizzlies rattled off eight straight points, forcing a Steve Kerr timeout. Green nailed another three after that timeout, which continued a hilarious trend for the Dubs: they were only making threes. For the first 10 minutes of the game, all of Golden State’s points came from beyond the arc. Even when Moses Moody ended that streak with 1:54 remaining, it came on free throws earned when he was fouled shooting a three. It took a drive by Jonathan Kuminga with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter for the Dubs to make a field goal that wasn’t worth three points.

But while the quarter was partially defined by the threes, it was also defined by an endless amount of turnovers. The Warriors forced eight in the quarter, and committed seven of their own. And after Jake LaRavia made a double-clutch halfcourt three to beat the buzzer, the Golden State lead was just 30-29.

They again came out hot to start the second quarter, this time with Lindy Waters III going on an 8-0 run all by himself (with some excellent playmaking by Green and Kuminga), forcing another quick Memphis timeout. The Warriors decided to counter Memphis’ size by going small rather than matching, using a small-ball lineup against a frontcourt of Zach Edey and Jaren Jackson Jr., and it worked well, as that jump-started a 10-0 run. The defense, led by sheer brilliance from Green, was making life miserable for the Grizzlies, but eventually both teams started to get a little out of control. Things turned into a sloppy slugfest, and with three minutes left the Grizzlies erased the deficit and took their first lead since the opening seconds.

Most troubling, however, was Kuminga rolling his ankle near the end of the half. At the time he led all Warriors with 13 points, while shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from deep, but was ruled out for the rest of the game. The Warriors took a 58-54 lead to the locker rooms, but Kuminga’s injury loomed large for a team already missing Curry’s offensive contributions.

But Andrew Wiggins made sure that neither player’s offense would be missed too much. After scoring just two points in a quiet first half, Wiggins exploded to start the third quarter. He scored the team’s first seven points in the frame, and thoroughly dominated from start to finish. The Warriors couldn’t pull away with things — though they did briefly push the lead to double digits — but behind a brilliant 18 third-quarter points from Wiggins, they always felt in control, and took a 92-86 lead into the final frame.

Then things slowed down. Green fouled Edey early on, and there was a lengthy delay while it was reviewed, and eventually turned into a Flagrant 1. Shortly later, Green was assessed a very weak technical foul for seemingly pumping up the crowd following a made three, and shortly after that Schröder was assessed an equally weak tech. Naturally, the game got fairly testy, but the Warriors sure didn’t back down. In fact, they did the opposite, only getting more aggressive and more confident.

Waters filled in brilliantly for Curry and Wiggins, with clutch shot after clutch shot in the final minutes. The game still hung in the balance until just over a minute remaining when, following their own turnover, Green stole the ball back from Memphis and fed it to Wiggins, who blew past the defense for a rim-rattling dunk that made it a 10-point lead and sealed the win. From there it was just window-dressing until the final buzzer rang, giving the Dubs a 121-113 win.

As it was in the first quarter, the game was all about making threes and playing defense. Six different Warriors players made at least three shots from beyond the arc and, as a team, they shot a blistering 23-for-43. They forced 22 Memphis turnovers, and turned them into 28 points.

Wiggins led the way with 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting, and also had a whopping four steals. Schröder (17), Waters (16), Hield (14), Kuminga (13), and Trayce Jackson-Davis (11) also scored in double figures.

With the win, the Warriors improve to 18-16. They host the Sacramento Kings Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. PT, with Curry expected to return.