Seven-game losing streak is over. Warriors beat Grizzlies, 114-95.
Warriors beat Grizzlies 114-95 to snap seven-game losing streak
MEMPHIS, TENN. >> As forward Draymond Green lay on the ground clutching his right elbow, what seemed like a breakthrough night for the Warriors suddenly looked like just another bad break.
The Warriors were up 14 points on the road with less than three minutes left in the third quarter Tuesday night when Green hit the floor hard after contesting Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones’ shot at the
rim. With an apparent right elbow contusion, Green went to the bench, where his right arm was dressed with a padded sleeve.
Green checked back into the game in the fourth quarter to nearly complete a triple-double — missing it by two points — and seal the Warriors’ first win in nearly two weeks. The Warriors (3-12) snapped their seven-game losing streak, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 114-95.
Green finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Guard Alec Burks led the Warriors with 29 points, while forward Marquese Chriss had his best game of the season with 17 points, six rebounds and five blocks. Forward Glenn Robinson III and rookie Eric Paschall scored 20 points and 17 points, respectively.
After a closely contested opening period, the Warriors used a 26-4 run to take a 20-point lead with 3:33 left in the second quarter. Partly helped by several missed shots at the rim by the Grizzlies, the Warriors played stout defense to generate stops and get out in transition.
With 6:07 left in the second quarter, center Willie CauleyStein jumped a passing lane to steal a pass by Grizzlies rookie guard Ja Morant. Cauley-Stein ran the floor and finished with a dunk at the halfway point of the game’s deciding run. It was a night when everyone contributed.
Even though the Grizzlies (5-9) made a few runs, the 33-16 second quarter gave the Warriors a lead they carried through the final buzzer.
Green’s temporary injury opened the door for the Grizzlies, but they failed to mount a comeback. When Green checked back in, the Warriors went on a 14-4 run to take a 23-point lead, its largest lead of the game with 5:10 remaining.
The Grizzlies were led by Morant’s 20 points and six assists. The Warriors defense, steadily improving since the start of the season, held Memphis to 40.9% shooting and compiled a 5137 rebounding edge.
The win provides a morale boost to a shorthanded Warriors team in need of a win. Missing several key rotation players, including Stephen Curry (hand surgery) and Klay Thompson (knee surgery), Golden State entered the night with nine healthy players. Green’s injury scare would have put the roster at eight.
Maybe it’s a lucky break for a team that hasn’t had many this season, and one that helped it break a losing streak weighing down its progress.
Tuesday’s game against the Grizzlies was the first of a back-to-back set that concludes tonight in Dallas against the Mavericks.
• The Warriors could be getting a big addition to an injury-ravaged roster sooner, rather than later. Center Kevon Looney, who has missed every game since the opener with a neuropathic condition, will go to Santa Cruz to practice with the Warriors’ G League affiliate and could be back in the lineup as early as Monday.
Looney, 23, will join the Warriors when they return to San Francisco from their current trip. At that point, the team will determine if Looney can play in Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“We’ll see how it goes in Santa Cruz,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I wouldn’t count on anything at this point.”
The neuropathic condition is affecting Looney’s nerves, causing chronic pain in his hamstring and preventing him from playing. The Warriors and Looney have consulted with outside medical specialists on his treatment.
Rookie forward Alen Smailagic, who has been sidelined all season with a sprained right ankle he suffered prior to training camp, will be out at least one more week but has been cleared to practice in Santa Cruz as well.
Guard Jacob Evans, sidelined the since suffering a strained left adductor on Oct. 28 against the New Orleans Pelicans, will miss two more weeks before being re-evaluated.