After a quiet first half, Stephen Curry turned up the volume in the second half and finished with a game-high 28 points as the Golden State Warriors remained the league’s only unbeaten team with a 100-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
A little more than a week after the Grizzlies had suffered a franchise-worst 50-point defeat to the Warriors (9-0) at Oracle Arena, Memphis scrapped to within a point of the defending NBA champions in the third quarter.
After a pair of free throws from power forward Zach Randolph (19 points, seven rebounds) with 3:37 left in the third quarter, the Grizzlies trailed 57-56. But Curry’s 17 points in the third quarter were too much and a steal and buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the league’s reigning MVP gave the Warriors a 74-63 lead going into the final frame.
Memphis (3-6) lost their fourth straight game and shot just 34.3 percent, going 24-for-70 from the floor. Memphis, who entered the night ranked 29th in the NBA in made treys and 3-point percentage, went 3-for-15 from beyond the arc for 20 percent.
The Warriors shot 48 percent from the floor, going 36-for-75. They hit 11-of-27 from 3-point range for 40.7 percent.
Swingman Andre Iguodala had 20 points off the bench for Golden State and forward Harrison Barnes finished with 19 points. In addition to his 28 points, Curry had five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Centre Marc Gasol scored a season-best 26 points and seven rebounds for Memphis and swingman Tony Allen chipped in 15 points. Starting point guard Mike Conley went 1-for-12 from the field and scored just four points.
