SAN FRANCISCO – The bad blood brewing between the Warriors and Grizzlies boiled over into a fiesty Christmas Day rematch of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday, with the reigning champs dealing the Grizzlies a 123-109 loss on national television.
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On a night filled with boisterous celebrations, Klay Thompson sent a message to the Grizzlies that the Warriors aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Thompson was assessed a technical foul — the Warriors’ sixth of the game — after he taunted Dillon Brooks in the fourth quarter, hovering over the Grizzlies forward and dishing him some “good old-fashion trash talk” as he laid on the court.
“I didn’t think it warranted a technical, but I forgot about the taunting rule,” Thompson said after the win. “It’s always fun to talk trash. We’ve been doing that since we were in middle school. That is when you either play at your best or you get frazzled — for me, it is usually the former.”
Sunday was the latest chapter in the budding rivalry between these two Western Conference foes. The two met in the play-in tournament in 2021, with Morant’s squad sending Curry & Co. home. The Warriors got their revenge in a firery Western Conference semifinals in the spring.
But less than a week after Morant told ESPN there was no one in the West that he feared, the Warriors handed it to the Grizzlies.
“You can’t talk dynasty when you haven’t won before,” Thompson said on the broadcast in a postgame interview. “I don’t think people realized how hard that is. The commitment and sacrifice it takes.”
Playing without four players, including two starters, the Warriors were powered by a 32-point game from Jordan Poole, who received his first career ejection in the fourth, as well as a 23-point showing by Thompson.
There was concern as to how the Warriors could replace Stephen Curry’s offensive firepower as well as Andrew Wiggins’ defensive prowess against the athletic and physical Grizzlies who are near full-strength with Desmond Bane playing his second straight game after missing 17 contests with a sprained big toe. But the Warriors, coming off back-to-back 30-plus-point losses, responded big with a win over one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
Poole scored 17 of his team-high 32 points in the opening quarter, fueling a strong start by the reigning champions who limped into this homestand shorthanded and in a fragile mental state, according to Draymond Green.
Golden State built off its four-point lead at the end of the first quarter, jumping out with a 19-8 run to go ahead by 15 points just past the midway point of the second.
But the Grizzlies clawed their way back. Tyus Jones scored six points – including four off free throws – over the final 27 seconds of the half to pull the Grizzlies within five at the break.
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The Grizzlies started to fall apart in the third. At one point, the Warriors scored 11 unanswered points. A Jordan Poole 16-foot basket made it 91-77, forcing Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins to call a timeout. Poole celebrated by running near the sidelines, yelling and high fiving fans.
The Grizzlies never recovered as the Warriors’ lead swelled to as big as 18 before the end of the third.
Poole was tossed at the 9:20 mark of the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul of the game. But his absence didn’t matter. The Warriors received contributions from up-and-down the roster. Six Golden State players finished in double figures scoring. Donte DiVincenzo had season-high 19 points including five 3s. Draymond Green contributed 13 assists and 13 rebounds.
Ty Jerome scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
Thompson called it a great team win, crediting everyone for their complete effort.
“I am just proud of these young guys for staying ready and not being deflated after a tough road trip,” Thompson said. “That was a real group effort, that was strength in numbers, that is what that really was about.”
Meanwhile, Morant led the Grizzlies with 36 points on 15 of 29 shooting. He also had eight assists and seven rebounds. But no one else on the Grizzlies really stepped up to help him, with Brooks and Tyus Jones each tallying 13 points as their next-highest contributors.
Golden State is looking to regain its footing heading into the new year with an eight-game homestand after a nightmare 1-6 road trip. Sunday’s win was a step in the right direction.
“Playing the way we did tonight was really encouraging,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I just challenged the guys to build on it. We’ve got seven straight home games coming up. We’ve been great at home but we haven’t really builts a lot of momentum this year. It’s kind of been stops and starts. So it feels like it’s time to turn it up.”
The Western Conference remains crowded, with 5 ½ games separating first and 11th, where Golden State sits.
The Warriors improved to 12-2 at home and 16-18 on the season. They’ll have one day off before returning to Chase Center Tuesday to host the 9-24 Charlotte Hornets.
Injury updates
Wiggins missed his 10th consecutive game with a strained thigh muscle suffered earlier this month.
Wiggins hasn’t played since Dec. 14 when he dropped a season-high 36 points on 14 of 19 shooting, including eight 3s. At the time, Wiggins said his 3-point shot never felt better, but he hasn’t played since.
The Warriors are still targeting Wiggins to return during this eight-game homestand, though Kerr noted his injury has lingered longer than expected. Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Dr. Rick Celebrini cautioned against bringing Wiggins back too soon.
“With groin injuries, you have to be careful,” Kerr said pregame. “We are just trying to be cautious and give him an extra day or a couple of days, whatever it’s going to take to get him back. Hopefully he’ll play soon, but I can’t tell exactly when that is.”
One day after the Warriors confirmed that Curry’s shoulder injury will keep him out for at least two more weeks, the guard expressed hope that he could come back as soon as the two weeks are up — even if he hasn’t started taking contact yet.
“Hopefully, the back end goes a lot faster than the front end,” Curry said in a second quarter interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters.
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