Stephen Curry had 22 points and Klay Thompson added in 18 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 101-86 Game 1 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in front of raucous home crowd. Memphis was held to 40 second-half points as the Warriors improved to 5-0 this postseason.
Grizzlies vs. Warriors 2015 final score: Golden State blows out Memphis in Game 1
The Warriors ride their defense to a 1-0 series lead.
Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who fractured multiple bones in his face in Game 3 of the team's first round series against the Trail Blazers, didn't play and his absence was felt. Nick Calathes, who started in Conley's place, went scoreless and had just two assists. His backup, Beno Udrih, didn't add much, either; he finished the game with seven points and one assist.
Memphis was led by Marc Gasol, who had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Zach Randolph, who had 20 points and nine rebounds as well.
Early in the first quarter it was apparent that the Grizzlies had no answer for Warriors' high-octane offense. Golden State shot 51 percent from the field and connected on 13 of its 28 three-point attempts. Leading the way for the Warriors in that category was Curry, who hit four three-pointers, and Draymond Green, who hit four of his eight shots from deep and finished with 16 points.
The Warriors came out with energy from the start and jumped to an early lead. The Grizzlies, however, were able to hang around and entered the half trailing by nine. Then the third quarter began and Golden State was able to run Memphis off the floor. Curry hit shots from everywhere, Harrison Barnes flew in for myriad offensive rebounds and, after turning the ball over nine times in the first half, Golden State only coughed it up twice in the quarter.
The Warriors outscored the Grizzlies 22-14 in the third quarter and entered the fourth leading by 17. It was a deficit that Memphis could not come back from.
3 things we learned
Memphis has no chance without Mike Conley
Nick Calathes gave an admirable effort, and he did a good job of staying in front of Stephen Curry, but he just doesn’t have the physical ability to make a difference while on the floor. Without Conley, Memphis has no one to create plays from the perimeter. Everything has go start with either Zach Randolph or Marc Gasol on the inside. That’s a strategy that can work for small stretches but not for an entire series, and especially not when playing a team like the Warriors. If Conley doesn’t make it back soon, this is going to be a very short series.
Draymond Green can win his matchup with Zach Randolph
This is the key matchup this series. Golden States starts the 6’7 209-pound Green at power forward, Memphis goes with the 6’9, 260-pound Zach Randolph. That’s a matchup that would appear to favor the Grizzlies, especially given Randolph’s prowess down on the block. Z-Bo was solid in Game 1, hitting nine of his 15 shots and finishing with 20 points. But Green, who finished with 16 points, was mostly able to match him. He also shot well from deep, which is a shot Randolph is going to give him all series. If he continues to hit his three-pointers, Memphis is going to be in trouble.
If Memphis does win, Tony Allen is going to play a role
Allen was one of the lone bright spots for Memphis on Sunday. He hustled through the end and played his normal dogged defense on Klay Thompson. Every one of Thompson's 18 points had to be earned. In fact, it might not be a bad idea for Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger to try Allen on Curry. But we knew Allen could play defense. What was so impressive about his Game 1 performance was how effective he was on the offensive end of the floor. Allen, using an array of off-ball cuts and hustle plays, tallied up 15 points. If he can keep that up, that will allow Joerger to keep him on the floor, something the Warriors don't want to see.
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