The Memphis Grizzlies played a game of basketball that can only be described as gutsy. After losing two straight games, the second in devastating fashion, the Grizzlies came out with a lackluster first-half performance.
Memphis couldn’t put the ball in the basket if their life depended on it and the Grizzlies’ strong defense was nowhere to be found. People on Twitter were calling out Taylor Jenkins— okay, maybe that was me, but in fairness, it was a poorly coached first half.
Still, this Grizzlies team found it in them to dig deep and play a better second half than the Golden State Warriors. Today, I’m going to present the three best parts of the Grizzlies’ win.
Part 1: The Memphis Grizzlies beat a good Golden State Warriors team this time around
Last year, Memphis knocked the Golden State Warriors out of the NBA Play-In Tournament. It was a strong win for the Grizzlies, but this was not the same Golden State team that was three-peating in the NBA Finals.
It seemed unlikely that the Grizzlies would win again, as was evident by the fact that every Beale Street Bears contributor predicted Memphis to lose, including myself. We’re all eating our words in the best way possible.
And the best part about defeating the Warriors was that they slowed down Stephen Curry again. Sure, Curry dropped 36 points, but he struggled down the stretch. The Warriors’ star player missed all five of his long-range attempts in the fourth quarter or overtime of this game.
The fact that Memphis was able to clamp up and win this basketball proves one thing — there may not be a grittier team in the league.