Warriors overcome Steph Curry’s ejection in 122-120 victory over Grizzlies

The Golden State Warriors overcame 21 turnovers, and a Steph Curry ejection to defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-120 on Wednesday night.

Both teams exchanged runs throughout the first three quarters, with Memphis unable to find any consistency from deep (10-for-31 for the game) and the Warriors continuing to shoot themselves in the foot with mistakes, neither team was able to pull ahead.

The Warriors strung some stops together at the start of the fourth quarter, but poor shot selection and continued turnovers allowed the Grizzlies to extend their lead. More than halfway through the final quarter, the Warriors trailed 111-102. However, Kerr deployed a small lineup with Curry, Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green that went on a 14-3 run over the next four minutes.

With a 116-114 lead, Poole launched a deep three that could have put the game out of reach. Instead, it bounced off back iron and gave the Grizzlies an opportunity to tie things up. Frustrated by Poole’s rushed shot, Curry chucked his mouthguard toward the stands as he ran back on defense. A referee noticed and ejected him from the game (throwing any equipment into the stands is an automatic ejection). Curry finished with a game-high 34 points.

Desmond Bane missed the technical free throw, but Morant tied things up at 116 on the subsequent possession. After a pair of empty possessions, Green gave the Warriors a 117-116 lead with 30.4 seconds left. Morant answered by drawing another foul and knocking down a pair of free throws to take a 118-117 lead with 26.6 seconds left.

As the Warriors looked to retake the lead, Dillon Brooks hesitated coming around a screen while guarding Thompson and gave the Splash Brother a moment to strike. Thompson took one dribble forward and knocked down a triple with 14.6 seconds remaining.

Morant did a great job finding Brandon Clarke inside, who tied the game up at 120 with 6.3 seconds remaining. The Warriors called timeout and drew up an inbound play. Thompson came off a screen on the strong side and Poole cut to the basket. DiVincenzo found Poole, who laid in the game-winner.

Poole recorded 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists with a game-high +15 plus/minus. Thompson scored 24 points on 23 field-goal attempts. Green finished with 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Back at .500, the Warriors will try to get another win on Friday, when they host the Toronto Raptors at 7:00 PM Pacific.