Warriors Collapse Late, Lose 111-108 to Grizzlies, Fall to 0-2
Golden State led by 12 in the fourth quarter and still found a way to lose, getting outscored 17-2 down the stretch in a 111-108 defeat at Chase Center.
Folks, I need you to sit down for this one.
The Warriors built a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter Friday night. TWELVE. At home. Against a Grizzlies team that had to fly in for this thing.
And then they scored TWO points over the final three minutes.
Final score: Memphis 111, Golden State 108. The Dubs are 0-2 to start this thing, and if you're a Warriors fan right now, you're allowed to be irritated. I'm irritated, and I don't even play.
How it slipped away
This game was a track meet from the jump — 14 lead changes, nobody separating by more than 13 points all night. Golden State actually answered a sluggish start to the fourth, going up 106-94 behind a three-pointer from De'Anthony Melton off a Draymond feed. Twelve-point cushion. Ballgame, right?
Wrong. Cameron Boozer and Ty Jerome had other plans.
Memphis closed on a 17-2 run that will haunt Golden State's coaching staff on film this weekend. Jaylen Wells chipped in a three and a free throw. Boozer bullied his way to four straight free throws. Then Jerome — who had it going ALL NIGHT — buried a three to cut the deficit to one, Wells's free throw tied it at 106, and Boozer's turnaround jumper put Memphis up for good. Jerome punctuated it with a technical free throw and a driving layup assisted by Jerami Grant with 10.2 seconds left to push the lead to five. Yaxel Lendeborg made both of his free throws in the final second to trim the final margin to three, but the damage was done.
Scoreless for three minutes with a double-digit lead on your home floor. That's a problem, and I'm not going to pretend it isn't.
The stat sheet
Ty Jerome torched the Warriors for a game-high 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting, and he was the one delivering haymakers in that final stretch. Boozer was a monster on the glass and the stat sheet both — 25 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists.
For Golden State, Stephen Curry led the way with 24 points, though he was a quiet 5-of-15 from the floor and leaned on 11-of-11 shooting from the free-throw line to get there. Brandin Podziemski was terrific again with 18 points, and Yaxel Lendeborg was all over the floor — 18 points, a team-high 13 rebounds, and a team-high 6 assists.
Here's the number that jumps off the page: Memphis out-rebounded Golden State 47-41 and hammered the Warriors on the break, 18 fast-break points to Golden State's 3. The Warriors actually shot better from the line (90% to 73%) and forced more turnovers, but you can't give up that many easy run-outs and expect to survive a one-possession game.
Golden State's bench chipped in all night, but Draymond Green was the rare quiet starter, finishing with just 5 points and 5 turnovers.
What's next
No time to sulk — the Warriors are right back at it Saturday night, heading to Phoenix to face the Suns at 10:00 PM ET. If this team wants to avoid an 0-3 hole, it starts with closing games out. Bay Area, we've seen this movie before. Let's hope it doesn't become a trend.