SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors were down the entire game until the final 45 seconds. Stephen Curry’s 18 points in the fourth quarter rallied Golden State’s comeback to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 101-98 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals to take a 3-1 lead.
“Nothing we figured out, it was just don’t let the first three quarters influence the fact that we still had a chance to win the game,” said Curry. “Shoot the shot you think you can make, play aggressive, take care of the ball. We did all of those things.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr tested positive for COVID before the game. Assistant head coach Mike Brown who was just hired as the Sacramento Kings new head coach took over the coaching duties for the night. Despite trailing behind much of the game, Golden State found their groove in the final seconds.
“His head coaching record for a Warrior playoff game I think is undefeated,” Klay Thompson said. “We did miss Steve a lot, just his voice, his presence but we’ve been here before, 2017 when Mike took over and we rolled off a lot of wins, so I reflect on that a lot.”
Curry finished the night with 32 points, eight assists and five rebounds. His dominance took place on the free-throw line, he went to the line four times in a row with his first attempt at the 45.7 mark. Curry went 8-8 from the line and that was all Golden State needed to seal their victory.
The Grizzlies dominated the game from the start, they controlled the paint behind Steven Adams aggressive play early on. He had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Adams helped Memphis control the boards. They had 11 blocks on the night and outrebounded the Warriors 54-48.
Jaren Jackson Jr had 21 points, Tyus Jones had 19 points and Kyle Anderson added 17 points. The Grizzlies lead by as much as 10 points. For three quarters Memphis kept a 4-point lead but that changed late in the fourth. Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Thompson and Jordan Poole added 14 points each.
Curry is the first player in NBA history to hit 500 career postseason three-pointers. Golden State missed shots from the arc all night until Otto Porter Jr. recorded a career-high of four 3s for 12 points. He went 4-for-6 from the three-point line. He added a spark before Curry took over.
The Warriors will head back to Memphis for Game 5 Wednesday night at 6:30pm on TNT. Golden State is one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
“We’ve been here before,” said Curry. “We know how to pull out games like this.”
Photo by Warriors/Twitter
