Memphis closes on a 17-2 run to beat Golden State 111-108 in San Francisco
The Warriors led by 12 with less than four minutes left. Cameron Boozer, Ty Jerome and Jaylen Wells turned the game around and lifted the Grizzlies to a 2-0 start.
Memphis beat Golden State 111-108 at Chase Center on Friday, October 23, erasing a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes. The Warriors led 106-94 after De'Anthony Melton made a three-pointer with 3:47 remaining. From there, the Grizzlies outscored them 17-2. Jaylen Wells started the comeback with a four-point play, Cameron Boozer kept it moving at the free-throw line and Ty Jerome hit the three that brought Memphis within one. Boozer's jumper with 20 seconds left put the visitors ahead for good.
The Grizzlies are 2-0 in the regular season; the Warriors are 0-2. The ending also changed the meaning of a night Golden State had appeared to control. The home team won the third quarter by 10, entered the fourth ahead 90-84 and stretched its lead to 12. Memphis, despite committing 25 turnovers, found the execution it had lacked when every possession became more valuable.
Golden State takes charge after a close first half
The teams traded leads in the first quarter, which ended 34-33 to the Warriors. Memphis had moved ahead 17-11 on a Boozer three, but Golden State answered with outside shots from Draymond Green, Gary Payton II and Brandin Podziemski. The second quarter swung the score back: the Grizzlies outscored the Warriors 27-22 and led 60-56 at halftime. Neither side had established lasting control. The NBA recorded 14 lead changes and six ties over the full game.
Golden State regained the initiative after the break. A 34-24 third quarter turned a four-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead entering the fourth. Stephen Curry finished with 24 points, 11 of them from the foul line, but made five of 15 field-goal attempts and three of 10 threes. Podziemski added 18 points. Yaxel Lendeborg also scored 18, grabbed 13 rebounds and had six assists; his work on the offensive glass gave Golden State extra possessions.
That momentum lasted into the fourth quarter. Curry opened the period with a three and Golden State reached 95-86. Memphis pulled within 95-92, but Melton, Lendeborg and Podziemski scored to push the Warriors ahead 103-92. After Isaiah Stewart scored for the visitors, Melton's three made it 106-94. There were 3:47 left, and Golden State appeared to have built enough of a cushion from its defense and Memphis turnovers.
Wells starts the comeback; Boozer and Jerome finish it
Wells immediately responded with a three off a Zach Edey pass while drawing a foul from Curry. His free throw completed a four-point play and made it 106-98. The next stretch was quieter but just as decisive: Golden State could not score while Memphis kept adding points. Boozer made four consecutive free throws, the second pair coming after Edey stole the ball from Podziemski. Jerome then hit a three, again assisted by Edey, to cut the deficit to 106-105 with 1:24 to play.
Memphis's defense held up the rally. Edey blocked a Curry three-point attempt with 1:10 left. Wells made the second of two free throws to tie the game at 106-106. After Curry missed another three, Boozer secured the rebound and made a midrange jumper for a 108-106 lead with 20 seconds remaining. Golden State's next possession ended with a Green offensive foul. A technical foul on Steve Kerr gave Jerome a free throw, and the guard added a layup after Memphis regained possession. Golden State cut the margin to 111-108 at the line in the final second, with no time to mount another comeback.
Jerome led Memphis with 28 points and five assists, making 11 of 22 field goals and three of five threes. He had scored 45 in the season opener against Utah; this performance mattered differently. His late three and layup arrived when the Grizzlies could no longer rely on offensive volume alone. Boozer finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. He made four of seven threes and all nine of his free throws. Wells had 17 points, including the four-point play that opened the decisive run and the free throw that tied the game.
The team numbers explain why this win was difficult. Memphis outrebounded Golden State 55-50, led 40-32 in points in the paint and 18-3 in fast-break points. But the Grizzlies committed 25 turnovers to the Warriors' 19, and Golden State scored 38 points off turnovers, nine more than Memphis. That edge did not protect the home team once its offense stalled. Golden State scored only 18 points in the entire fourth quarter; Memphis scored 27.
Edey had eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and his contribution extended beyond scoring. He assisted Wells's three, made a steal in the decisive stretch and turned away Curry's late perimeter shot. Those rebounds, interior defense and passes gave Memphis an answer after it fell behind by 12. The loss does not erase the Warriors' strong response through much of the game, but it shows the price of going without a basket in the possessions that settled it. The Grizzlies won an ending that had eluded them for most of the night.
