The Golden State Warriors rung in the holiday with a 123-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. Here are three key reactions from the defending champions' impressive win over their newest rival.
Jordan Poole, good and bad
Poole went deep in his Santa bag on Christmas, slicing and dicing his way to 32 points in just 29 minutes. The Grizzlies just didn't have a defender who could keep up with Poole both on and off the ball, his speed and creativity even often proving too much for Dillon Brooks, an impactful one-on-one defender.
Look how Poole runs his way into this corner jumper as Brooks overplays the top side.
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Poole would've had an even bigger game if his night didn't end early. He was ejected with 9:20 left in the final stanza after picking up his second technical foul for arguing with the officials. Golden State was up 107-89 at the time, its lead likely safe in part due to Memphis' rough three-point shooting.
Poole was dynamic against the Grizzlies, almost matching Morant highlight for highlight. This performance was another major step in the right direction for his current status as offensive alpha dog. Poole needs to get a handle on the technical foul issue, though. His eight techs rank fourth in the league.
The Warriors' 3-point shooting trump card
The Warriors' most reliable means of beating the Grizzlies is hardly a secret. Even without Stephen Curry, they rely on the long ball nearly as much as any team in the league. Trading threes for twos is always a winning numbers game, but especially against Memphis, which leads the NBA in paint points.
Golden State exploited that dynamic from the opening tip on Sunday, red hot from deep early en route to a double-digit lead. The Warriors outscored the Grizzlies by 12 points on triples in the opening quarter, finishing the first half with 11 threes—a whopping eight more than their visitors.
The problem? Golden State led just 59-54 at intermission despite that massive advantage, and Memphis was bound to at least somewhat cut into it after halftime given regression to the mean. Some nights are ripe for outlier shooting from both sides, though, and that continued proving the case for the game's duration.
The Warriors finished 18-of-44 from beyond the arc, with Poole, Klay Thompson, DiVincenzo, Ty Jerome and Anthony Lamb all cashing three or more triples. DiVincenzo led Golden State with five threes, this incredibly soft roll indicative of just how well Golden State shot the ball.
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The Dubs' ball movement was stellar. They consistently passed up good shots in search of great ones, with Draymond Green—outstanding on both ends—setting a tone of decisive decision-making in the halfcourt that all of his teammates embraced.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, went just 9-of-39 from long range, the third straight game they've made fewer than 10 threes. It's safe to say Memphis will shoot better next time these teams meet. Desmond Bane, just returned from a toe injury, missed all seven of his three-point attempts. Brooks and John Konchar combined to go 1-of-9.
The Warriors' three-point shooting on Sunday was truly a trump card, just like it's been in other editions of this awesome rivalry.
Game-changing 3rd quarter run
This game seemed poised to come down to the wire midway through the third quarter, Memphis suddenly cutting Golden State's lead to three after another acrobatic layup from Ja Morant. Momentum was clearly on the Grizzlies' side, too, even before they'd had much of a chance to make up some of that huge deficit in three-point shooting.
But the Warriors quickly roared back, going on a game-changing 17-2 run that was spearheaded by Ty Jerome. Golden State's two-way player scored five points right after a shrewd timeout from Steve Kerr, then canned a corner triple two possessions later to put his team up nine points.
By the time Poole danced his way into another slick pull-up two, the Warriors led 91-77.
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Another key development in that portion of the game? Jaren Jackson Jr., in foul trouble basically since the opening minutes, picked up fifth foul right after finally getting off the bench with 2:29 remaining.
His penchant for fouling has long been debilitating, and there was obviously no bigger on-court absence from this matchup than Curry. But Jackson might be the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner, a rim-protecting maven who can capably switch onto the perimeter. His ability to space the floor, drive close-outs and score on post-ups looms large to Memphis on the other end, too.
The short-handed Warriors were at their best on Christmas. Memphis, by contrast, struggled in multiple facets of the game, only Morant's dazzling craft and interior shot-making keeping his team close. The next battle between these rivals—on January 25th at FedEx Forum—will be much different, and not just because Curry is likely to be back in the lineup.
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