What we learned when the Warriors beat the Grizz to remain undefeated in the NBA Cup

What we learned when the Warriors beat the Grizz to remain undefeated in the NBA Cup originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – Matching the energy of Tuesday night simply wasn’t going to happen three days later at the Chase Center.

The air in the building throughout Klay Thompson’s return was an NBA playoff atmosphere. The mood on Friday night resonated as often as millions streamed a spectacle of a 58-year-old pigeon fairy fighting a cartoon character cosplaying as a boxer.

A letdown game was definitely on the table. Instead, the Warriors battled early shooting battles and outlasted the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies, 123-118.

Steph Curry in his previous two games scored a total of 73 points and made 12 3-pointers. The Grizzlies made it a point to guard Curry wherever he went, which led to him scoring just 13 points in 26 minutes. Curry took just nine shots, going 4 of 9 overall and 3 of 7 on threes. But he added eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

While the Warriors made 19 threes and had a 41.3 3-point percentage, the Grizzlies made just seven with a low 16.7 3-point percentage. The Warriors also won the bench battle, 67-61.

Here are three takeaways from the Warriors, who improve to 10-2, as well as 2-0 in the NBA Cup.

Draymond from downtown

On a night when Curry isn’t an inferno, every point counts. Especially from Draymond Green, and even more so behind the 3-point line.

Green missed his first two 3-point attempts in the first quarter and didn’t attempt a single one in the second. But in the third he connected on 2 of 4 shots from long range. It’s not exactly a heater, but historically it’s a big deal for the Green and Golden State as a whole.

Back-to-back threes early in the third quarter by Green gave the Warriors an 11-point lead on both makes. It also pushed his streak of hitting multiple threes to four consecutive games, matching his career high. How big of a deal is that? The Warriors are now 140-30 all-time in the regular season when he makes two or more 3-pointers in a game.

This past season, Green shot a career-high 39.5 percent on 3-pointers. After going 3 of 7 against the Grizzlies, Green is now shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc this season, making 19 of 42 attempts.

Tough Luck For Waters

The Warriors took a blow from the injury bug on Thursday when it was announced that De’Anthony Melton suffered a sprained left ACL. Coach Steve Kerr said in his pregame news conference that there is still no timetable for Melton’s return, but he is expected to miss at least a portion of the games. Then, during the second quarter on Friday night, the Warriors were again bitten by injury.

Lindy Waters III made his second start of the season stepping in for Melton, scoring five points in the first quarter. His 3-pointer from the corner marked the Warriors’ first three points of the night.

With two minutes left in the first half, Waters was up eight points and had made two threes. He also had a big block, but the result saw him on the ground and out for the game. Waters jumped from two feet to meet Santi Aldama at the rim to block him off the backboard. But when he landed, Waters’ left leg buckled and he immediately grabbed his left knee. Waters rolled on the floor to get out of the play as they writhed in pain.

After being down for a while and being attended to by trainers, Waters got up and jogged down the tunnel unaided but with a slight limp. At halftime, the Warriors announced that he was out for the rest of the game with what was diagnosed as a hyperextension of the left knee.

Brandin Podziemski started the second half in Waters’ place.

Play the game

Scratch it. Play of the year? From a purely highlight point of view, it should be.

Heart and chase with eyes in the back of the head. Podziemski showed all three in a game that seemed too good to be true. Words don’t do it justice. Watch and do your best to keep your jaw from hitting the floor.

What started with Jonathan Kuminga batting away a Grizzlies pass attempt ended with him throwing down a dunk on the run for two points. In the middle was one of the more impressive passes of anyone in the entire NBA. Not only did Podziemski run into the first row of fans to keep the game alive, he used his non-dominant right hand to whip a pass behind his back and somehow strode it to Kuminga , who caught the ball off a bounce and quickly jumped to dunk over former defensive end Jaren Jackson Jr.

The start of the season has been less than ideal for Podziemski. That play is also a direct example of the energy he always brings when his name is called.

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