The Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 110-96 in Game 6 of their second-round series on Friday night.
Golden State will now have a chance to rest up before facing the top-seeded Suns or the Mavericks in the next game. The seventh game of the series will take place on TNT on Sunday at 5 p.m.
If the Suns beat the Warriors, game 1 of the Western Conference Finals will take place in Phoenix on Wednesday, May 18. If Dallas wins, Golden State will host the first game at the Chase Center in San Francisco on the same day.
Good morning.
Grizzlies in 7.
— Joe Mullinax (@JoeMullinax) May 12, 2022
Warriors vs. Grizzlies match highlights
The win means that the Warriors don’t have to worry about blowing another 3-1 lead. Still, the way they played Game 6 on Friday was risky.
Up until the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, it was a challenging offensive game for almost every Warrior except Klay Thompson, who finished with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting and eight rebounds.
The Warriors committed 17 turnovers in total during the game. Curry and Jordan Poole combined to shoot just 14 of 42 from the field in their regular roles as the Warriors’ offensive catalysts.
Fortunately, a 70-44 rebounding margin, mainly due to Kevon Looney’s 22 rebounds, allowed plenty of leeway for the Warriors.
Desmond Bane scored first in the game before the Warriors scored 10 consecutive points with two layups from Green and 3-point by Curry and Thompson.
Dillon Brooks scored 30 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers, but he picked the second flagrant foul of the series by taking down Curry. Bane added 25 points for the Grizzlies.
The Warriors rediscovered their best form after trailing 89-87 with less than seven minutes to go. The Warriors went on an 18-3 run after that.
Andrew Wiggins hit a game-changing 3-pointer, stole the ball from Dillon Brooks, dunked it, and then got another stop on Brooks to set up a Stephen Curry transition 3-pointer with 5:45 remaining.
Klay Thompson was the driving force behind the offense for the team throughout the first half, and he appeared to deliver the killing blow for the Warriors in the fourth quarter. Thompson threw up six fingers after the shot, knowing that his team would win the match.
Grizzlies’ promising season ends in defeat
The Grizzlies were playing without their All-Star point guard Ja Morant, which was fortunate for the Warriors. Morant suffered a bone bruise in his knee during the final three games of the postseason and was forced to sit out those matches.
Despite the setback, the Grizzlies were still able to give a solid challenge to the Warriors, just as they did during the regular season when Morant was sidelined with an injury.
The Memphis Grizzlies really has been the better team is the series. Golden State lucky that Ja hurt!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 12, 2022
Although Brooks did his best to step up and contribute with 30 points on 11-of-28 shooting, the Grizzlies felt Morant’s absence through replacement starter Tyus Jones’ who could only contribute 2-of-12 shoot from the field.
The Grizzlies’ season, which had been filled with promise, was cut short by the loss, but there is every reason to believe that next season will hold even more promise.
With Morant (22 years old), Brooks (26), Desmond Bane (23), and Jaren Jackson Jr. (22), the team still possesses one of the best young cores in the NBA, if not the best, and there is much more room for them to grow together.