SAN FRANCISCO, May 10 (BUS): Their coach has been out of action again as he has many times before, even during the playoffs Stephen Curry took charge and captained the Golden State Warriors.
Mike Brown grabbed the holster as acting head coach, just as he did during a tournament five years ago with Steve Kerr, according to the Associated Press.
Curry converted eight free throws during the last 45.7 seconds on his way to 32 points, leading the Warriors to a 101-98 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, and a 3-1 advance into the Western Conference semifinals.
Curry also made eight assists as Golden State went up to win without Kerr after he tested positive for COVID-19 less than two hours before the tip.
“Obviously there are butterflies, because again you go into the game with a certain mindset and it’s a big game. Every game we play at this point in the year, it’s huge,” said Brown, who on Sunday agreed to become the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings after this next season. .
“So to get that kind of thrown at you, you have to switch gears because I know my responsibilities as assistant coach Mike Brown, and they change.”
But Brown has done it before. He led the Warriors to a record 11-0 during the 2017 race when Kerr was dealing with debilitating symptoms from back surgery complications two years earlier.
“His training record in the Warriors Playoff I think is undefeated,” said Klay Thompson. “We missed Steve a lot, just his voice, his presence, but we were here before, 2017 when Mike took over and we had a lot of wins, so I thought about that a lot.”
Curry took charge and now the Warriors had one win from a trip to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2019. He tied the 90 on a basic jump with 3:25 to go and his two free throws with 45.7 gave the Warriors a 94-93 lead, their first win them at night.
Golden State scored 39 points in fourth place, ahead of 38 in the entire first half.
“Nothing we found out, it was just not letting the first three quarters affect the fact that we still had a chance to win the match,” Curry said. “Take the shots you think you can do, play hard, take care of the ball. We did all these things.”
Teos Jones scored 19 points, six rebounds and five assists to miss the injured Memphis All-Star Ja Morant. Dillon Brooks came back from a one-game suspension and struggled hard, wasting a 3-point attempt with 53 seconds left and finishing 5-for-19 with 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
“It’s tough. It’s a hard pill to swallow,” Jones said. “It felt like we were leading the whole game. “I felt like we were in a good position. I felt we put ourselves in a good position to win a ball game and things just didn’t go our way.”
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Thompson scored 14 despite missing all seven of his 3-point attempts with the Warriors, who didn’t have to deal with Morant this time. The Grizzlies goalkeeper missed the game with a sore right knee after being grabbed by Jordan Bull as he went for the ball late in Game 3 – leading Morant and Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins to question Paul’s intentions.
It is not yet clear if Morant will return for game five on Wednesday in Memphis.
Brooks sat in Game 3 as a penalty by the league for his big foul on Gary Payton II in Game 2, when Brooks hit the Golden State guard over the head in an unexpected drive attempt and Payton fell hard and broke his left elbow. Kerr called it a “dirty” play and said Brooks had violated the NBA’s Code of Conduct.
Brooks was booed almost every time he touched the ball, made a foul, or fell back into the game.
“I am trying to get his groove back,” Jenkins said. “Obviously he has been out for a few days. But when he was playing hard in control, I loved the game industry he had.”
Golden State trailed 69-62 in the fourth quarter after 32-footed Desmond Bunny beat 3-pointers on the third-quarter bell. However, both teams struggled through the night to achieve 3s.
Paul scored 14 points off the bench for the Warriors as they survived nail-biting after a post-season points total in a 142-112 third game blast on Saturday.
sad green
Greene’s former Michigan State classmate Adrian Payne was killed in a shooting in Florida earlier today. Green did not discuss the game but pledged $100,000 to form a fund in Payne’s honor.
“It was an emotional day,” Thompson said. “Prayers to the Adreian and Draymond family, I know they played together. It is just a terrible loss of life. His legacy will live on, it is just a sad day.”
curry kicks
Curry made a special edition Curry 9 Flow sneaker in orange with a color scheme to honor the late TNT broadcaster Craig Sager and his impact on the NBA.
Curry will sign the shoes for auction Wednesday on the NBA auction site where all proceeds will go to the SagerStrong Foundation. The MVP was changed twice to lavender-colored shoes during the second half.
Hint
Grizzlies: C. Stephen Adams, who returned from HSE protocols to play six minutes in the final moments of Saturday’s blast, started and contributed 10 points and 15 rebounds as Memphis did a better job of staying with the Warriors on the board — beating 54-48. … the Grizzlies were 9 out of 35 in 3s.
Warriors: The Warriors committed 11 spins in the first half and 16 overall. … Golden State started 0 for 15 from deep before delivering 3:24 Otto Porter Jr before the break. Curry missed his first five three-pointers before becoming the first player in NBA history to make 500 postseason three-pointers when he hit 46.2 seconds before the break. …The Warriors were the first team to go 0 of 15 from long range to start a game since the 2011 Thunder were 0 for 16 against Dallas in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, according to Elias. The team said… the Warriors did not have immediate additional positive COVID tests.