By: Eric He

In decisive fashion, the Golden State Warriors allowed their fans to breathe a huge sigh of relief with a 101-84 blowout victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals to even up the series at two games apiece.

After struggling the last two games, Stephen Curry stepped up in MVP fashion, scoring 33 points to lead his team to victory. Four other Warriors — Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Harrison Barnes — also scored in double figures.

Up 61-44 at halftime, the Warriors maintained separation throughout the second half. Back-to-back threes by Curry and Thompson gave the Warriors a 74-49 advantage midway through the third quarter.

To underscore the importance of the game, Steve Kerr rode the starters for a majority of the second half despite the large lead. And they finished off the job, not allowing the Grizzlies to make any sort of run.

The Warriors ran away from the Grizzlies with a dominant second quarter, dropping 33 points. Up 28-20 after the first quarter, a three-pointer by Andre Iguodala gave them a 37-26 lead, their first double-digit lead since Game 1.

Then Curry took over, scoring 15 of the Warriors’ last 20 points of the half. He had 21 points in all in the first half, including a 6-0 spurt to put the Warriors up 47-33. He closed the half with a ridiculous three-point play, drawing Jeff Green in the air with a pump fake and knocking down the jumper.

A layup by David Lee, who made a positive impact on the game, sent the Warriors into halftime up 61-44.

From the start, the Warriors seemed more confident than the previous two games. Green scored eight of the Warriors’ first 10 points, and Barnes contributed early on as well. The Warriors ended the first quarter on a 7-0 run, capped off by a deep three from Curry to give the Warriors a 28-20 lead.