by Jerry Feitelberg

photo by Google images

The Golden State Warriors won their fourth game of the season Monday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Oracle Arena. Monday’s game was the first meeting between the two teams since the Warriors eliminated the Grizzlies in the playoffs last season. In that series, the Warriors lost two of the first three games but rallied to win the next three to eliminate Memphis and continue their run to the NBA title. The Warriors knew that they would have to contain Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to win. The Warriors stopped them cold and after a very low scoring first period, they put on a performance at both ends of the court to blow the Grizzlies away, beating them by fifty points. The final score was 119-69 for Golden State.

The first period was fairly even as the Grizzlies slowed the game down. The Warriors did manage to take a six-point lead with 4:03 left to play in the period, but the Grizzlies came back and led 22-21 at the end of the first twelve minutes of play.

The second period belonged to the Warriors. Steph Curry and company picked up the tempo of the game. The Warriors moved the ball well. They ran the court and dazzled the Grizzlies. The Warrior defense was spectacular as they held the Grizzlies to just 28& from the floor. The Grizzlies could not make a three-point shot. Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli blocked shots and cleared the boards for the Dubs. The Warriors led 29-26 with almost three minutes played in the second period. They never looked back. They increased the lead to eleven leading 4-0-29 then 47-31 with two minutes left in the half. The Dubs finished the half with a nineteen point lead 53-34.

The Warriors, led by Steph Curry’s twenty-one points in the third period, iced the game for Golden State. Curry was brilliant again. At one point, he made two steals on defense. Curry demoralized Memphis with his brilliance. The Warriors were on a 52-16 run at this time in the game. They finished the third period with a 93-49 advantage. Interim coach, Luke Walto, pulled his regulars from the contest. Ian Clark, James Michael McAdoo, Brandon Rush, Jason Thompson and Mo Speights played the entire fourth period. Final score 119-69.

Game Notes- Steph Curry finished the night with thirty points to lead the Warriors in scoring. Klay Thompson had fourteen and Ian Clark, coming off the bench , finished with fifteen. Festus Ezeli had ten rebounds. Draymond Green recorded nine and Mo Speights had eight. Green had eight assists to lead the Warriors in that category. Leading scorers for Memphis were Marc Gasol with thirteen and Michael Conley with ten.

The Warriors set another record as they won their twentieth straight game at home. They face the Los Angeles Clippers  Wednesday night at the Oracle Arena. The Clippers, led by Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, are aiming to send the Dubs a message. The Dubs and the Clips do not like each other, and the game should be a bruising battle between two elite teams. Game time will be at 7:30 pm.