Warriors take a loss in Memphis
The Warriors could not make up for the absences of Stephen Curry and James Wiseman on Saturday night.
The undermanned Warriors could not manage to pull out their second win in as many nights against the Grizzlies.
With Stephen Curry (tailbone) out for the second straight game and Kevon Looney, James Wiseman and Eric Paschall out because of coronavirus contact tracing, the Warriors (22-21) fell 111-103 to the Grizzlies (19-20) Saturday night in Memphis.
Although Andrew Wiggins (20 points on 4-of-14 shooting) and Jordan Poole (26 points on 10-of21 shooting) again carried the offense, the rest of the Warriors could not muster much support. Golden State made 31-of-90 (34.8%) shots and fouled Memphis 25 times, leading to 27 points for their opponent.
“We just made too many mistakes,” head coach Steve Kerr said.
Much of this game was played at the free-throw line, where the Warriors went 28-for-34 and the Grizzlies went 27-for-31.
The Warriors trailed for most of the game, but Poole’s 3-pointer gave the Warriors a 100-99 lead with 2:43 to go. However, they were outscored 12-3 by Memphis down the stretch. Wiggins’ turnover that led to an easy transition dunk for guard Grayson Allen with 1:43 left sealed the win for Memphis.
Like in Friday’s win, the Warriors were without Curry, Wiseman and Paschall. However, Looney was a surprise scratch as he was entered into the league’s health and safety protocols Saturday afternoon. Second-year forward Alen Smailagic started in Looney’s place but was ineffective against Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas, who finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
If there was a silver lining, it was forward Juan Toscano-Anderson, who put up 11 points, six rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes, many of them in small-ball lineups that Golden State may have to rely on for some time.
As of Saturday night, it’s unclear how long Curry and Looney will remain out. Wiseman and Paschall will miss Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Chase Center.