Stephen Curry scored 52 points and Draymond Green added a triple-double as the Golden State Warriors clinched a crucial 134-125 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Curry, the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point shooting, once again demonstrated his long-range prowess, draining 12-of-20 attempts from outside the arc at Memphis’s FedExForum.
The 37-year-old’s dazzling shooting performance helped the Warriors vault over the Grizzlies into fifth place in the Western Conference standings, edging them closer to an automatic playoff berth.
The Warriors improved to 44-31 while the Grizzlies dropped to sixth place with a 44-32 record. The top six finishers in the West qualify automatically for the postseason.
Curry’s masterpiece – his second 50-point game of the season and the 15th of his career – was backed by a triple from defensive linchpin Green and 27 points from Jimmy Butler.
Green finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr lavished praise on Curry’s virtuoso display that has left Golden State firmly on course for the playoffs.
“The guy’s 37 years old, it’s incredible,” Kerr said. “Fifty-two points with people draped all over him all game long. The conditioning, the skill, the audacity, the belief, it’s incredible to watch Steph at work.
“I can’t believe he’s still doing this at this age. But he’s put the work in and he’s still got it.”
Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo, who took over the team last week following the shock dismissal of Taylor Jenkins, was similarly effusive of Curry’s performance.
‘Sight to behold’
“It’s a sight to behold how he operates,” Iisalo said, revealing that the team had been helpless to stop a first-quarter onslaught from Curry that included 19 points.
“In the first quarter we had a specific strategy that we do not want him to get three-point shots – and he found a way to get going anyway. It’s very hard to stop a player of that caliber.
“Once he gets into that zone, it’s very difficult to get him. I mean, we’re talking about the best movement shooter of all time.“
Memphis, who trailed by as many as 17 points in the first quarter, were left ruing their inability to sustain a second-half rally which saw them open up a four-point lead with just under four minutes remaining.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies’ scoring with 36 points while Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22.
“Everybody’s hurting in that locker room right now,” Iisalo said. “It really hurts when you put everything on the line and you come up a little short. But that’s life, that’s sports.“
Westbrook woe
Golden State’s win was upstaged later on Tuesday by a spellbinding slugfest in Denver which saw the Timberwolves snatch a dramatic 140-139 win over Jokic and the Nuggets.
Jokic looked to have done enough to secure victory for Denver after stitching together his 31st triple-double of the season, comprising 61 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
But in an epic finale, the Timberwolves snatched victory in the final seconds of the second period of overtime.
Two Jokic free throws put Denver 139-138 ahead with 18 seconds left on the clock, and the Nuggets appeared poised to stretch that lead to three points when Russell Westbrook drove up the court for what should have been a routine running layup.
But Westbrook’s attempt with nine seconds remaining bounced off the glass and the Wolves’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker grabbed the rebound to give Minnesota one last possession.
Westbrook then compounded the error of his miss by giving up a personal foul as Alexander-Walker attempted a three-pointer on the buzzer.
It meant Alexander-Walker had three attempts from the foul line to win the game and the Canadian duly stepped up to make the first two free throws, clinching a momentous victory.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s scoring with 34 points while Alexander-Walker and Julius Randle both finished with 26 points apiece.
The Minnesota win leaves the battle for Western Conference playoff places on a knife edge heading into the final days of the regular season, which concludes on April 13.
The Timberwolves are in seventh place in the West with a 44-32 record, just behind sixth-placed Memphis, who are also 44-32.
Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 37 points as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 133-123 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Devin Booker scored 39 points for Phoenix but it was not enough to prevent the Suns from falling to a fourth consecutive defeat – a late-season mini-slump that has imperiled their playoff hopes.
The Suns are now in 11th place in the West with a 35-41 record, trailing the 10th-placed Sacramento Kings (36-39). Teams ranked 7th to 10th in the conference standings advance to a four-team play-in tournament that determines the final two playoff tickets.
The Indiana Pacers became the latest team to clinch their playoff place after the Atlanta Hawks slumped to a 127-113 home defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The result ensured that the Pacers, fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 44-31 record, are guaranteed a top-six finish.
