Tag: Zach Randolph

Warriors Keep Record Dreams Alive, Complete Comeback Against Memphis With 100-99 Victory

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By Shawn Whelchel

Draymond Green was candid about his desire to chase history this week when asked about breaking the Chicago Bulls’ record for most wins in a season.

On Saturday, he showed just how serious he was with big plays down the stretch on both ends of the court to secure a hard-fought 100-99 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on the road.

After being down by double digits at multiple points throughout the dwindling fourth quarter, Green would answer the call for the struggling Warriors with a pair of consecutive and-1’s to cut into Memphis’ lead. Green’s presence would be felt again with a tip in off a Steph Curry layup to give the Warriors a one point advantage with just a minute to go, which would ultimately be the difference in the game.

But perhaps just as important as his offensive contributions was Green’s defensive efforts in keeping big-man Zach Randolph from scoring on the Warriors late in the game. Green forced two clutch misses from Randolph late in the game while disallowing Memphis to rely on their biggest scoring threat with the game on the line.

The efforts by Green erased what was at times a 10-point deficit for a Warriors team struggling to find the long-ball that is crucial to their success. Golden State shot just 10-for-36 from the field from beyond the arc on the night, with Curry failing to connect on a three-pointer in the first half.

But with a chance at history on the line, Golden State rose to the occasion with three’s from Curry, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes- whose shot would give the Warriors their first lead of the fourth quarter with just over 90 seconds left in the game.

Lance Stephenson had a chance to win the game for Memphis on a wild drive to the hoop against Klay Thompson, but help from Curry caused an errant layup to be tipped out to the corner, where Stephenson would hoist up a final hail mary shot that would bounce off the side of the hoop to go out of bounds with .8 of a second left, securing the win for Golden State on an inbound pass.

The difference in the game was the play of Memphis’ bench, who would outscore the Golden State reserves by 32-17. The Warriors also found themselves on the other end of the free-throw differential, with Memphis getting to the line for 18 points compared to their 12.

But despite the balanced scoring attack throughout the Memphis lineup, strong nights from the Warriors’ starters in Green (23 points, 11 rebounds), Thompson(20 points), Curry (17 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) and Barnes (14 points) saved what was a lackluster effort through three quarters for Golden State.

Matt Barnes would lead the scoring for the Grizzlies with 24 points on 17 shots, followed by Vince Carter with 15 points Stephenson with 13 of his own.

The win, which gave them their 71st of the season, was a record in its own right, as the 33 road wins ties the Bulls record for road victories in a single season. Golden State has one chance to claim sole possession of that record with their final road game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

Warriors refuse to lose, mount late comeback to top Grizzlies, 100-93

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By Gabe Schapiro

The Golden State Warriors (45-27) simply wouldn’t be denied as Stephen Curry led a late comeback to topple the Memphis Grizzlies (43-29), 100-93, Friday night, at Oracle Arena. A Grizzlies win would have tied the two squads in the standings, and extended their luck on the Warriors home court, having won four straight in Oakland. Golden State was without David Lee and Andrew Bogut, but they still put together one of their more impressive outings of the season, leading to very different headlines.

The contest was close throughout, and was played with a true playoff atmosphere. Neither side ever held more than a seven-point lead, as the two Western Conference foes duked it out. The Warriors had a three-point lead after the first quarter, and that was trimmed down to one point heading into half time.

After another close quarter in the third, as it often does it all came down to the final 12 minutes. Heading into the waning minutes the momentum swung decidedly in the Grizzlies favor, and it looked like they would outlast Golden State. With a bit more than three minutes remaining, Memphis had opened up a game-high seven-point lead. The Grizzlies wouldn’t score another point, however, and the Warriors came alive, going on a 14-0 run.

A huge Draymond Green three-pointer brought the Dubs back to within just two points, and a minute later Curry followed suit with a trey of his own to tie grab back the lead. Golden State suffocated the Grizzlies offense in the final minute plus, and Curry provided the dagger on the offensive end. Two Klay Thompson free-throws with a few seconds left officially sealed the Warriors victory.

Curry was fantastic, finishing with a game-high 33 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. If he was Batman, than Green may well have been his batman. He played a huge 32 minutes off the bench, and contributed 12 points and nine boards. Marreese Speights got his first start of the season, a decision that was initially confusing, but paid off. He had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and eight rebounds.

On the negative side Bogut took a hit to the groin just four minutes into the game, and never returned after heading to the locker room. His status moving forward is unknown, but would be a huge loss if he has to miss any significant time.

Zach Randolph led the way for Memphis in the losing effort. He posted a team-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Mike Conley added 20 points and six assists.

The Warriors are back in action this Sunday, when the New York Knicks come to town. The game starts at 6:00 PM.

Conley checkmates Kings

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(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

By Pearl Allison Lo

The Memphis Grizzlies, who were on a four game winning streak heading into their last matchup versus Sacramento are on another one now, as Mike Conley led again in a 99-89 win over the Kings.

With their victory, the Grizzlies matched the sizzling Thunder for best record in the NBA the last 10 games, at 9-1.

Since the Kings and Memphis last met January 17, Sacramento has only won one game in the now seven games since and the Grizzlies have only lost once in the now six games since.

Conley led with 27 points and 10 assists. The last time Conley scored 20+ points was in the teams’ last meeting, where he scored 25 and led the game as well .

Two of Sacramento’s three missing starters returned and were the leading scorers with 20+ points, but they were the only ones who achieved double digits.

Rudy Gay returned to the lineup from an Achilles strain and produced 23 points on 10 of 16 shooting. Isaiah Thomas looked recovered as well, as he was the top scorer with 24 points on 10 of 21 shooting and four three-pointers.

In the first quarter, Conley had five of his assists while Thomas scored 10 of his team’s first 14 points, along with one assist.

The Kings’ last lead came with 5:58 left to go in the third. There were about eight ties and nine lead changes until then. Sacramento missed eight baskets and had four turnovers while the Grizzlies ended the quarter on a 10-2 run.

During a 30 point fourth for Memphis, Sacramento pulled to within three with a 9-2 run to make it 84-81 with 4:33 to go, but the Grizzlies “stole” the game for good with a 15-8 finishing run while four different players took the ball away from the Kings. Conley scored seven during that stretch and Tayshaun Prince scored six.

Game notes: The Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph had four steals and seven rebounds to go along with 18 points. Conley was 9 for 9 from the free throw line. Sacramento ends January Friday at 5:30 pm, facing the Dallas Mavericks.

Memphis able to hold off Sacramento surge

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Photo Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press –

By Pearl Allison Lo

The Grizzlies were able to overcome a second half surge by the Kings Sunday in a 97-86 win.

Memphis’s Zach Randolph had all 9 of his 22 points after a three by Travis Outlaw with 7:18 left to go in the game, put Sacramento within three.

Randolph was the only player to get a double-double, as he also got pulled down 10 rebounds.

Outlaw led the team with 18 points and 6 rebounds from the bench, with all his scoring done in the second half.

The Kings’ John Salmon, Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Thornton and Travis Outlaw all hit double digit points.

The Grizzlies led for the majority of the first quarter but there were five ties. Memphis pulled away to 25-18 with an 11-4 run after the last one. 7 of those points came from Jerryd Bayless who entered the game with 2:51 left in the first.  Bayless also had a rebound.

The first 3 minutes and 42 seconds of the second quarter were filled with fouls and free throws. At one point, the Grizzlies’ Mike Miller committed a foul and then turnover and Kosta Koufos was called for a foul immediately after. Memphis extended their lead to 17 points during the quarter, converting on five straight possessions. Koufos and Marc Gasol each scored 4 points then and Mike Conley, who had 9 assists in the game, assisted on 3 straight possessions. Gasol had 9 points in the quarter. The Grizzlies ended the first half with a 13 point lead, 47-34.

Memphis extended their lead to 20 several times during the third quarter. The Grizzlies’ Tony Allen started out early with steals on consecutive possessions, leading to points by Tayshaun Prince and himself. After a timeout with 7:37 left to go, coach put in reserves Salmon, Thomas, Thornton, Outlaw and Chuck Hayes into the game, leading to a 24-13 run. Outlaw and Thomas started out with three-pointers on consecutive possessions and combined for 17 of the 19 points scored after. Thomas’s layup with 2:33 left to go put within single digits at the time and Outlaw had 9 points during the quarter.

Thomas made at least two nice passes to teammates up front for points in the fourth. With the shot clock winding down with 9:55 left to go, Thomas was fouled and got a new clock.  After Outlaw put the game within three, he missed two shots and committed a foul and Sacramento went scoreless for over 3 minutes. The Grizzlies shaved a minute off the clock when on one possession, they consistently missed and got the rebound three times until Hamady Ndiaye blocked the ball, Randolph got the rebound and Memphis missed again.

Game notes: Regarding shooting percentage, rebounds and assists, they went in favor of the Grizzlies in the ratios of 55.6% to 37.9%, 49-35 and 30-21. Gasol had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. When Randolph scores at least 15, Memphis is now 5-1, as the Grizzlies beat Sacramento for the sixth straight time. The Kings next play Tuesday versus the Phoenix Suns at 7pm.