LOS ANGELES, United States —
Stephen Curry scored 32 points as the Golden State Warriors survived a scare to defeat the
Memphis Grizzlies 101-98 and move to the brink of the Western Conference
playoff finals on Monday.
اضافة اعلان
Curry poured in 18
points in the final quarter as an out-of-sorts Warriors reeled in the Grizzlies
with less than a minute remaining to close out victory and take a 3–1 lead in
the best-of-seven series.
Memphis, who
suffered a 142–112 mauling in game three on Saturday, had looked poised to
punish one of the worst
Golden State offensive displays in years to seize
victory at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
But after leading
from the opening quarter until the final minute of the fourth quarter, the
Grizzlies, without the injured Ja Morant, were unable to hold on.
And as Memphis
tightened down the stretch, it was Curry who kept his cool to reel off a string
of free throws that allowed Golden State to edge home.
Curry gave the
Warriors their first lead of the night from the free throw line at 94–93 with
45.7 seconds remaining.
The eight-time All-Star then bagged six more free
throws to help put the hosts five points clear at 100–95 with 9.7 seconds on
the clock to effectively ice the game.
Andrew Wiggins
finished with 17 points while Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole both had 14 points
apiece.
Curry’s points haul
included a three-pointer that made him the first player to score 500 threes in
the
NBA playoffs.
But for long
periods that statistical milestone looked like being of scant consolation for
Golden State, who shot just 36 of 90 from the field all night.
Curry was at a loss
to explain Golden State’s lackluster offensive display, which came so soon
after Saturday’s free-scoring game-three blitz.
“That’s
basketball,” Curry said. “We got a little rushed in the first six minutes and I
set the tone for some ugly offense.
“But credit to our
defense. They kept us in it. We had a chance to weather the storm.”
Golden State’s task
had been made more challenging by the absence of coach Steve Kerr, who tested
positive for
Covid-19 earlier Monday and was unable to take his seat on the
bench.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
led the Memphis scorers with 21 points with Tyus Jones adding 19.
Memphis coach
Taylor Jenkins was left ruing his team’s agonizing late loss.
“We played well for
48 minutes, the ball just didn’t bounce our way a couple of times late in the
fourth quarter,” Jenkins said. “We’ve just got to find a way to play better and
win game five.”
Horford sinks Bucks
In Milwaukee, Al Horford scored 30 points as the
Boston Celtics produced a
devastating late scoring burst to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 116–108 and knot
their best-of-seven series at 2–2.
The defending
champion Bucks looked to be heading towards a 3–1 lead in the
Eastern Conference semi-final series after stretching into an 11-point lead late in the
third quarter, with Giannis Antetokounmpo in commanding form.
But a devastating
fourth-quarter shooting display from the Celtics — with Horford scoring 16
points as Boston outscored Milwaukee 43–28 — transformed the contest as the
Celtics head home to Boston for game five on Wednesday.
Horford’s total was
a career-high in playoff games and gives the Celtics a crucial advantage with
two of the three remaining games in the series taking place in Boston.
Horford received
scoring support from
Jayson Tatum, who added 30 points, while Jaylen Brown and
Marcus Smart both finished with 18 points apiece.
Derrick White added
11 points from the bench as five Celtics players finished in double figures to
silence Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum crowd.
“Our backs were
against the wall. We needed to respond and that’s what we did,” Horford said.
“We didn’t quit, we
just kept pushing,” the 35-year-old five-time All-Star added.
“Playoffs is hard.
You have to grind and get down to it ... we just needed to find a way.”
Antetokounmpo led the scoring for Milwaukee with 34 points
in a losing effort, with 18 rebounds and five assists, while Brook Lopez
finished with 17 points.
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