GSW rally past Grizzlies for 3-1 lead
SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, (AP): Their coach sidelined again as has happened several times before, even during the playoffs, Stephen Curry took charge and led the Golden State Warriors back.
Mike Brown grabbed the clipboard as acting head coach, just like he did during a title run five years ago with Steve Kerr out.
Curry converted eight free throws over the final 45.7 seconds on the way to 32 points, leading the Warriors to a 101-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night and a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Curry also dished out eight assists as Golden State rallied to win without Kerr after he tested positive for COVID-19 less than two hours before tipoff.
“Obviously there’s butterflies, because again you’re going into the game with a certain mindset and it’s a big game. Every game that we play at this point in the year, it’s huge,” said Brown, who agreed Sunday to become the Sacramento Kings new coach after this postseason run.
But Brown has done this previously. He led the Warriors to an 11-0 record during the 2017 title run when Kerr was out dealing with debilitating symptoms from complications of back surgery two years earlier.
Curry took charge and now his Warriors are one win from a trip to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2019. He tied it at 90 on a
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fall-away baseline jumper with 3:25 to go and his two free throws with 45.7 seconds to go gave the Warriors a 9493 lead, their first of the night.
Golden State scored 39 points in the fourth, topping its 38 the entire first half.
Tyus Jones had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists as Memphis missed injured All-Star Ja Morant. Dillon Brooks returned from a onegame suspension and struggled mightily, missing a 3-point try with 53 seconds left and finishing 5 for 19 with 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Thompson scored 14 points despite missing all seven of his 3-point attempts for the cold-shooting Warriors, who didn’t have to contend with do-everything Morant this time. The Grizzlies guard missed the game with soreness in his right knee after Jordan Poole grabbed him while going for a loose ball late in Game 3 - lead
ing Morant and Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins to question Poole’s intentions.
It remained unclear whether Morant would be back for Game 5 on Wednesday in Memphis.
Brooks sat out Game 3 as a penalty by the league for his Flagrant 2 foul that injured Gary Payton II in Game 2, when Brooks hit the Golden State guard over the head on a driving layup attempt and Payton fell hard and broke his left elbow. Kerr called it a “dirty” play and said Brooks had broken an NBA code of conduct.
Golden State trailed 69-62 going into the fourth quarter after Desmond Bane’s 32-foot 3-pointer beat the third-quarter buzzer. However, both teams struggled all night to make their 3s.
Celtics 116, Bucks 108
In Milwaukee, Al Horford has played in more than two dozen postseason series in a 15-year NBA career but rarely has outwardly shown much emotion during all those appearances. That all changed Monday night. The 35-year-old Horford had just capped a 10-0 run by driving down the baseline, hitting a game-tying dunk and drawing a foul on two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Horford celebrated by letting out a scream and pumping his fists.
Horford’s big moment was the signature play in a fourth-quarter comeback that enabled the Boston Celtics to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 116-108 and tie their Eastern Conference semifinal at two games apiece.
The teams have alternated victories in this best-of-seven series, which continues Wednesday with Game 5 in Boston.
Boston tied the series mainly because of Horford and Jayson Tatum, who also had 30 points. Horford had 16 points and Tatum 12 in the fourth quarter alone to help the Celtics outscore the defending NBA champions 43-28.
Horford and Tatum helped the Celtics rally even while Jaylen Brown dealt with foul trouble that caused him to play less than half of the fourth quarter. The Celtics played the whole game without forward/center Robert Williams, who was out with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.
Horford had Boston’s first six points and Tatum the last eight during a 14-2 run that put the Celtics ahead for good and gave them a 106-96 advantage with 3:33 left. The Bucks wouldn’t cut the margin below six the rest of the way.