The Golden State point guard was angry with Jordan Poole, who would ultimately be the hero in the team’s double win over the Grizzlies.
Stephen Curry did it again. Did he surpass his mark of 14 triples in a game? No. With just over a minute left to finish the game against the Grizzlies, the Warriors star was obfuscated by a bad shot by young Jordan Pool (23 years old) and reacted in the worst way: he swung his mouth guard against the public and was immediately expelled. It is not the first time that this has happened to him, he had already reacted like this in the 2016/2017 finals.
Sports stuff. Finally, Jordan Poole was decisive in the last seconds to give the Golden State Warriors victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in a tight board that closed 122-120. The escort of one meter ninety threewho finished with 21 points, capped off a set play under the rim for the win and break the constant equality that marked the entire game.
As always, Stephen Curry was the most outstanding man with 34 points, but he also starred in the controversial image of the match as he was ejected for the third time in his career after throwing the mouth guard in a gesture of rage with just over a minute to go.
There was maximum equality between Warriors and Grizzlies: up to 24 times the dominance on the scoreboard changed and in 18 moments the light was tied.
Golden State saved a very difficult game and thus stopped the results crisis. After four home losses, they won again at the Chase Center.
For its part, Memphis added its fourth consecutive fall, the second without being able to count on Steven Adams.
Ja Morant (29 points and 12 assists) was the top scorer for some Grizzlies in which the Spanish Santi Aldama also stood out (13 points with a perfect 5 of 5 shooting as well as 3 rebounds.
After his team’s victory, Curry came forward and acknowledged the error of his overreaction: “The game was at an important moment and I reacted in a way that hurt my team.”
A game that was defined at the end
At the beginning, the Warriors were quickly loaded with fouls and in just five minutes Curry and Klay Thompson accumulated two personal each.
Curry’s time on the bench due to fouls invited Memphis to run more and they took advantage of it by achieving a 0-7 offensive transition only in a first quarter that ended, however, with a favorable result for the locals (24-22). .
Memphis raised the defensive level, more aggressive and intense, and Golden State did not find fluency in attack (14 losses at halftime).
Despite this, the result never had a great advantage for either of them.
The Grizzlies’ 3-point percentage was miserable (4 of 16 in the first half) and kept the Warriors alive, almost always dominating the light.
Aldama arrived at the break as his team’s second highest scorer with 11 points and in the last minute before the break he was attacked by Jonathan Kuminga, who extended his left arm hitting the Spaniard’s face and was punished with a category one flagrant foul.
Curry, with 11 points in the second period, held the Warriors’ lead until, with Morant’s last basket -circus foreshortening included-, Memphis took the lead before facing the locker room (53-54).
Poole’s revenge
Golden State had a strong start to the track with a 7-0 run. The Warriors improved by sharing the ball in attack and considerably reducing their turnovers.
The Grizzlies played attacking above the rim at many times and it was where they did the most damage to their rival. An alley-oop between Morant and Dillon Brooks led to a technical foul for Draymond Green for protesting, his 14th this season.
The third was a quarter of sets: the Grizzlies also achieved an 0-9 improvement from the line of three and Golden State replied again with another 11-3.
Curry, fired up by then, managed a three plus one to tie the score 85-85, but Memphis closed the period better, with a more collective game, up to 90-96.
Golden State had a scoring crisis at the beginning of the final period while Memphis, more coral, kept the lead between five and ten points controlling the game.
The score was tightened and the expulsions arrived.
First Jaren Jackson Jr. for his sixth foul and, later, the most controversial, that of a Curry who left early due to his gesture of rage over a mistake by Poole in the triple.
Morant equalized scoring two to make it 116-116 and thus they exchanged baskets until 120-120 with which Golden State designed a background play to win the game.
Poole received the ball under the hoop and his pulse did not tremble to rise, score and seal a very important victory in a game that could have been taken by either of them.
With information from EFE and NBA social networks
