December 14 was the last time the Golden State Warriors owned a top five seed in the Western Conference standings, but that's no longer the case as the visitors snatched the fifth-seed from the Memphis Grizzlies with a 134-125 win at FedExForum on Tuesday.
The last time the Warriors visited Memphis, Stephen Curry went without a made field-goal as his team was blown out by 51 points. The turnaround couldn't have been more drastic on Tuesday as Curry led his team to victory with another historic performance consisting of 12 made threes, 52 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in just under 37 minutes.
The Warriors' veterans got it done against the Grizzlies
Curry had eight threes and 32 points in the first-half alone, yet Golden State only led by eight themselves as both teams fired offensively in the opening 24 minutes. The Warriors had built a 17-point lead in the first-quarter, but the Grizzlies fought back into the game as Ja Morant tried his best to match Curry's output.
The hosts continued their momentum to take the lead in the third-quarter, leading to a back-and-forth remainder as the game went to the final period with the scores tied at 103. Golden State outworked and outplayed Memphis on the second night of a back-to-back over the final minutes, finishing the game on an 18-5 run after trailing 120-116 with less than four minutes left.
SC30 👌 pic.twitter.com/hHdFliEn1P
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 2, 2025
Curry was simply spectacular once again, but he wasn't the only veteran Warrior to produce a huge performance. In a game that had a playoff-feel from the opening tip, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green were also critical to the nine-point win.
While it may go under the radar given Curry's enormous night, Butler had his scoring-high in a Golden State jersey with 27 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and was a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Butler had 10 points in the fourth alone, providing the perfect balance to Curry's perimeter magic. Green was again the table-setter to it all, with the DPOY favorite recording a triple-double of 13 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in his 33 minutes.
The Warrior younger players weren't at their very best, but made some big plays when it mattered most. Brandin Podziemski soared over Morant to tip in an offensive rebound to extend the Golden State lead to five with just over a minute remaining, before Moses Moody sunk the dagger corner three on the next possession.
Morant had 36 points, three rebounds and six assists, with the Warriors missing Gary Payton II and Jonathan Kuminga as defensive matchups for the Grizzlies star. Memphis actually shot better from the floor and from three, but Golden State were a perfect 28-of-28 from the floor, had eight more offensive rebounds, and committed five less turnovers.
The Warriors are officially up to the fifth-seed, but still have plenty of work to do which starts again on Thursday in their final game of the road-trip against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.