Strength in numbers: Six Warriors score double-digits without Curry in win over Grizzlies
Lindy Waters III saved eight of his 16 points for a tight finish and Andrew Wiggins put up a game-high 24 points as the Golden State Warriors outlasted the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 121-113 on Saturday night (Sunday, January 5, Manila time) in San Francisco.
Each team played without its superstar point guard. Memphis was minus Ja Morant for the fourth straight time due to a shoulder injury, while Golden State gave Stephen Curry the night off on the front end of a back-to-back.
Dennis Schroder chipped in 17 points and nine assists, Buddy Hield 14 points, Jonathan Kuminga 13 and Trayce Jackson-Davis 11 with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Warriors.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 23 points and nine rebounds and Desmond Bane added 22 points and 10 assists for the Grizzlies, who were playing their second game in two nights after losing 138-133 at Sacramento on Friday. Memphis completed a 2-3 road trip.
The Warriors led just 100-96 before a three-point play by Schroder and the first of two 3-pointers by Waters helped extend the advantage to nine with 7:41 to go.
Waters added a long two-pointer almost two minutes later to re-establish a seven-point lead, then delivered the dagger on a 26-footer with 2:08 to play after Memphis had closed within 114-109.
Six Warriors players made three or more 3-pointers as the team went 23-for-43 from deep and outscored the visitors 69-27 on treys. Waters finished 4-for-5 and Hield 4-for-7 from beyond the arc, while Wiggins, Schroder, Kuminga and Draymond Green drilled three apiece.
Wiggins had four of Golden State’s 13 steals.
Jake LaRavia contributed 17 points and 10 assists off the bench for Memphis while Scotty Pippen Jr. had 12 points and Brandon Clarke 10.
The game also featured the first NBA head-to-head between brothers Cam and Pat Spencer.
The Grizzlies’ Cam Spencer, a rookie from UConn, had seven points in 13 minutes, while the Warriors’ Pat Spencer, a star lacrosse player at Loyola (Md.) before a one-year basketball stint at Northwestern, totaled two points in 12 minutes. – Rappler.com