Warriors defy injuries to star pair to record huge win over major rival

The Golden State Warriors have recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since November, defying some significant injury worries to complete a 121-113 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center on Saturday.

Already without superstar guard Stephen Curry, along with Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II, the Warriors lost their second-leading scorer -- Jonathan Kuminga -- to a concerning ankle injury during the first-half.

Kuminga was impressive again with 13 first-half points, but his awkward landing late in the second-quarter left the job to Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and some of the more unheralded Warrior players.

Andrew Wiggins delivered a huge performance for the Warriors in the second-half

It was Wiggins who stepped up in the absence of Curry and Kuminga, overcoming what was just a two-point first-half with 22 in the second to finish with a game-high 24 points along with two rebounds, three assists and four steals in the eight-point win.

The 2022 All-Star had 18 points in the third-quarter alone, helping to keep the Grizzlies at bay after the visitors had briefly taken the lead late in the second-quarter. Memphis then pulled to within one at the start of the fourth as tempers started to flare, with Green called for a flagrant one foul and a technical foul moments later.

The veteran forward steadied himself and his team, doing just enough to maintain a nervy lead before a Wiggins dunk in the final 90 seconds put an exclamation mark on an important Golden State victory.

Dennis Schroder was also vitally important without Curry, setting the table with nine assists to go with 17 points as he continues to improve as his time with the franchise progresses. Trayce Jackson-Davis was also solid again, posting 11 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in 28 minutes.

The rejuvenated Golden State offense was again the main talking point though, having seemingly shook off a woeful December to kickstart the new year with back-to-back hot shooting performances.

The turnaround was typified by Lindy Waters III who, after dropping to below 35% shooting for the season, drilled four of his five 3-pointers and went 6-of-7 overall for an important 16 points off the bench.

Buddy Hield also went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc in a starting role thanks to Curry's absence, with the Warriors drilling 23 of their 43 3-point attempts (53.5%) and finishing 52.4% shooting from the floor overall.

The 3-point shooting was clearly the difference in the game, with the Grizzlies limited to just 9-of-27 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. Jaren Jackson Jr. (23 points, nine rebounds) and Desmond Bane (22 points, 10 assists) tried their best without Ja Morant, but it wasn't enough to prevent Golden State from getting revenge for their 51-point blowout in Memphis just over two weeks ago.

The Warriors will regain Curry and look for their third-straight win when they host the Sacramento Kings in the second night of a back-to-back on Sunday.