Klay Thompson made eight 3-pointers en route to 30 points, Stephen Curry had 29 with six 3-pointers and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference finals by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 110-96 in Game 6 on Friday night. evening.
Curry found his shooting bunt late and made two straight baskets late in the third for a 78-77 lead before the final 12 minutes. Draymond Green had 14 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. Kevon Looney had 22 rebounds and Andrew Wiggins scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth with a pair of well-timed 3-pointers.
Golden State, eliminated by Memphis in the play-in tournament last year, weathered a tough series to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2019, when the franchise reached its fifth straight NBA Finals before losing to Toronto. in the decisive final. game 6
The third-seeded Warriors will face the winner of Phoenix-Dallas in the conference finals. Game 7 of that series is Sunday at Phoenix.
“What a trick!” the delighted and raucous home crowd sang along in the final moments, the robbery of the Memphis fans.
Dillon Brooks had a career-high 30 points on seven 3-pointers, but he committed his second flagrant foul of the series. Desmond Bane added 25.
Curry checked back in for the final 8:21 and delivered a 3 with 5:45 remaining on a beautiful bounce pass from Green. Looney found Green for an easy dunk the next time, capping a decisive 10-0 run.
After Wednesday’s 134-95 debacle at home to the Grizzlies in which they trailed by 55 points, the Warriors were determined to make it all better, especially reducing the 22 turnovers that led to 29 points.
The Warriors outrebounded the Grizzlies 70-44, becoming the first team to grab 70 rebounds in a playoff game since San Antonio had 75 against Denver on May 4, 1983.
Bane made the first two baskets of the game before the Warriors had 10 straight points, with a pair of layups by Green and a 3-pointer by Curry and Thompson.
Looney started after Jonathan Kuminga had the previous three games following the injury of guard Gary Payton II. He broke his left elbow in an awkward fall after Brooks hit him in the head in Game 2, earning Brooks a Flagrant 2 foul and a one-game suspension.
He was booed loudly again each time by the packed crowd at Chase Center. When Payton was shown on the big screen during a timeout in the first quarter, he received a standing ovation and put his hand to his heart before encouraging them to shout more.
Memphis again played without All-Star guard Ja Morant, who missed his third straight game with a bruise on his troublesome right knee that the Grizzlies blamed on Jordan Poole pulling on the knee while searching for a fumble in Game 3.
Center Steven Adams limped cautiously on his right ankle and headed to the locker room 3:23 before halftime, but returned. At the same time, Brooks was flagrantly fouled 1 for bringing down Curry and the Grizzlies forward and Thompson were hit with technical doubles.
THE THOMPSON TOUCH
Thompson, returning to shine in the playoffs after missing 2 1/2 years with a pair of serious injuries, scored his fourth career postseason game with eight 3-pointers, tying Ray Allen, Curry and Damian Lillard for the most. amount in NBA history.
TIPS
Grizzlies: Brooks had three flagrant points and finished one off an automatic one-game suspension. … Memphis missed its last 10 shots of the second quarter. … The Grizzlies held a 55-37 rebounding advantage in Game 5.
Warriors: Curry was 6-for-17 from deep. … Looney’s 11 rebounds in the first quarter is a career high for any quarter and equals a Warriors playoff record in the team’s West Coast era, also achieved by Larry Smith on May 12, 1987, on the road against the Lakers. … F Otto Porter Jr. was out with a sore right foot. … Veteran Andre Iguodala, still sidelined with a left cervical disc injury, is scheduled to be re-evaluated again next week.
FRIDAY THE 13TH
The Warriors had a playoff game on Friday the 13th for the second time in franchise history, previously when they beat the Bucks 100-86 on April 13, 1973, in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals to clinch series 4-2. according to Elijah. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a game-high 27 points and led the Bucks with 14 rebounds. Jim Barnett scored 26 for the Warriors.