Warriors Struggle Early, Late In Loss To Grizzlies
OAKLAND (CBS / AP) -- Rudy Gay had 26 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their fifth straight victory, 110-92 over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Marc Gasol added 17 points and 12 rebounds and Marreese Speights scored 18 points to pace the hot-starting and hard-closing Grizzlies, who sprinted to a 21-4 lead, lost it, then built back a 21-point lead late. Memphis has won nine of its last 10 games and is gaining momentum for the second straight season in the deep Western Conference.
Monta Ellis had 16 points and a hobbled Stephen Curry came off the bench to score 15 points for a Warriors team that just returned home from a solid 3-3 road trip only to turn in another perplexing performance.
The scoring swings started out extreme in this one.
The Grizzlies converted defensive stops into easy baskets, making 10 of their first 11 shots—almost all layups, dunks or inside the paint—in a swift and stunning burst of offense. Mike Conley's lob to Gay for a thunderous alley-oop over Dorell Wright for one of his 12 assists, highlighted the 21-4 run in the first 5:26.
The home crowd showered the team with boos, and perhaps the frustrated fans awakened the Warriors.
Golden State surged back with a 31-14 spurt to even the score at 35 halfway through the second quarter. Curry, with a strained tendon in his surgically repaired, troublesome right foot still causing fits, tossed a high-arcing lob to Ellis later in the period to help the Warriors take a four-point lead.
The Grizzlies slowly started to pull away again in the third quarter, going ahead 79-66 on Quincy Pondexter's 3-pointer. They just blew away the Warriors in a frustrating fourth quarter for the home team, building a 21-point lead that started to rattle Golden State even more.
Golden State's Nate Robinson and Memphis' O.J. Mayo each were each whistled for a technical foul following a brief scrum. David Lee and Speights were also called for technicals later in the period with the game out of reach.
NOTES: Grizzlies PF Zach Randolph, out with a torn ligament in his right knee since Jan. 1, is participating in practice again. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said Randolph will play again when "he's ready," but it appears the forward won't return until at least Tuesday when the Grizzlies return home against the Lakers. ... Dominic McGuire started in Curry's place for the second straight game. Curry missed the previous four with the injury. ... The Warriors gave away a bobblehead doll of former standout Mitch Richmond to the first 10,000 fans. The giveaway was part of the franchise's "Run TMC" celebration this year honoring Richmond and former teammates Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin, who formed Golden State's dynamic trio in the 1990s.
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