CURRY RESCUES WARRIORS; GRITTY CELTICS EQUALIZE
SAN FRANCISCO—Stephen Curry scored 32 points and Golden State survived a scare to trim Memphis, 101-98, and move on the brink of the Western Conference finals on Monday.
Curry poured in 18 points in the final quarter as an outof-sorts Warriors reeled in the Grizzlies with less than a minute remaining to close out victory and take a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series.
Memphis, which suffered a 142-112 mauling in Game 3 on Saturday, looked poised to punish one of the worst Golden State offensive displays in years to seize victory at Chase Center.
But after leading from the opening quarter until the final minute of the fourth, the Grizzlies, who were without the injured Ja Morant, were unable to hold on.
And as Memphis tightened down the stretch, it was Curry who kept his cool to reel off a string of free throws that allowed Golden State to edge home.
Curry gave the Warriors their first lead of the night from the free throw line at 94-93 with 45.7 seconds remaining.
The eight-time All-Star then bagged six more free throws to help put the hosts 100-95 clear with 9.7 seconds that effectively iced the game.
“That’s basketball,” Curry said. “We got a little rushed in the first six minutes and I set the tone for some ugly offense.
“But credit to our defense. They kept us in it. We had a chance to weather the storm.”
Durable Horford
In Milwaukee, Al Horford scored 30 points as Boston produced a devastating late scoring burst to defeat the Bucks, 116-108, and knot their best-of-seven series at 2-2.
The defending champion Bucks looked to be heading toWith ward a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series after zooming to an 11-point lead late in the third quarter, with Giannis Antetokounmpo in commanding form.
But a devastating fourth-quarter shooting display from the Celtics—with Horford scoring 16 points as Boston outscored Milwaukee, 43-28—transformed the contest as the Celtics head home to Boston for Game 5 on Wednesday.
Horford’s total was a career-high in playoff games and gives the Celtics a crucial advantage with two of the three remaining games in the series taking place in Boston.
Horford received scoring support from Jayson Tatum, who added 30 points, while Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart both finished with 18 points apiece.
“Our backs were against the wall. We needed to respond and that’s what we did,” Horford said.
“We didn’t quit, we just kept pushing,” the 35-year-old five-time All-Star added.