Warriors Vs Grizzlies — Shorthanded Golden State crushes Memphis 133-112
The warriors vs grizzlies matchup in Memphis ended with Golden State routing the Grizzlies 133-112 on Wednesday night, a result that came with both teams significantly shorthanded and that affects postseason positioning for the Warriors and standings for Memphis.
Dominant night in Memphis
Will Richard led Golden State with 21 points, Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II added 19 apiece, and Gui Santos finished with 17 as the Warriors rolled to a 133-112 win in Memphis, Tenn. Eight of the nine Warriors who saw action reached double figures; the ninth, two-way player Malevy Leons, had nine points. Memphis’s GG Jackson scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Ty Jerome added 22 points and five assists and Javon Small had 16.
Warriors Vs Grizzlies: lineups and missing stars
Both clubs were missing multiple rotation players. The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, and other missing Golden State names listed before the game included Seth Curry and Kristaps Porzingis. De’Anthony Melton was out for the Warriors’ back-to-back and will sit the second half of the Dubs’ back-to-back; Al Horford, who missed Tuesday’s game, returned to the rotation. One pregame listing named Draymond Green as questionable; another game listing put him among players unavailable Wednesday night. Kyle Anderson, a former Warriors forward, was declared out for personal reasons about an hour before game time, though an earlier listing had him questionable.
Memphis absences and tanking signals
The Grizzlies were also thin. The team has traded core pieces — including Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the last year — and has been described as engaged in tanking. Memphis was holding out Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Santi Aldama, Cedric Coward, Brandon Clarke and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, with those players listed as out. The loss dropped Memphis into a tie for 12th place in the Western Conference with the idle Dallas Mavericks, and the Grizzlies entered the game having dropped two straight and 12 of their last 15 games since late January.
How the game unfolded
Golden State built a double-digit edge in the first half and blew the game open with a 29-8 run midway through the second quarter that pushed the score to 63-39 and sent the Warriors to a 74-53 halftime lead. The Warriors hung 34 points in the first quarter while allowing 31, and a late first-quarter moment saw GG Jackson bank a halfcourt jumper to beat the buzzer for Memphis. In the fourth quarter the Warriors stretched the margin to 32 and then coasted to the finish.
Rotation choices and bench contributions
The Warriors started Brandin Podziemski, Will Richard, Moses Moody, Gui Santos and Al Horford and summoned a short bench that included Pat Spencer, Quinten Post, Gary Payton II and Malevy Leons. That group’s depth helped sustain the rout as the youthful starters and a handful of reserves combined for the scoring balance that produced eight double-figure scorers for Golden State.
What comes next
Golden State entered the night jockeying for postseason positioning, having begun the night slotted eighth in the Western Conference after a 113-109 loss in New Orleans on Tuesday. Memphis will start a three-game road trip in Dallas on Friday. The immediate next steps are the Warriors’ continued push for seeding while managing a depleted roster and the Grizzlies’ road swing that follows Wednesday’s loss.
