MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Friday's contest had all the makings of a trap game for the Golden State Warriors, who have a much-anticipated game Saturday night.
The rugged Memphis Grizzlies stood in the way of arguably the most anticipated regular-season bout of the 2016-17 season, in which the Warriors visit the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kevin Durant returning to OKC for the first time as a Warrior is on everyone's mind this weekend.
Memphis defeated Golden State in the teams' first two meetings of the season. Would the OKC game be too much on the Warriors' minds, preventing them from exiting FedExForum with a win?
No.
Draymond Green and Klay Thompson didn't allow it. The Warriors easily did away with the Grizzlies 122-107.
Thompson led all scorers with 36 points, hitting 8-of-15 on 3-pointers. Green brought the defensive intensity, and his teammates fed off of it. He secured an unconventional triple-double by becoming the only player in NBA history to accomplish the feat without utilizing the points category. He produced 12 rebounds, 10 assists and a career-high 10 steals. His steal tally is a franchise record and an NBA season high. He was one steal shy of tying the NBA record and added a game-high five blocks.
“I didn’t know I was that close to a triple-double,” Green said. “I just try to play the game the right way and try to impact the game however I can. But it’s definitely something you can appreciate. Being the only one in something, or being up there with the greats in something, I think is pretty amazing.”
Who gets a triple-double without scoring in double figures? There is only one answer in NBA history: Draymond Green.
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Green guarded positions 2 through 5. He was a shutdown beast.
“Draymond dominated the game,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We had a lot of great individual performances ... but that’s as dominant of a performance as I’ve ever seen from somebody who scored four points.”
Durant started slowly but picked it up and ended the night with 24 points. Most of his damage was done at the free throw line (11-of-14). Stephen Curry chipped in 18 points and five assists.
Physicality is a staple of the Grizzlies. They thrive in playing a sluggish, roughhousing style that often has disrupted the Warriors from moving gracefully and efficiently on offense.
Not on this night.
The Warriors shot 51 percent from the field and held the Grizzlies to 39 percent shooting. The defending Western Conference champs led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter.
Check out the team site for more game coverage
Check out the team site for more game coverage
Memphis was down 24 and came back to beat Golden State at Oracle in their previous meeting, but the Grizzlies couldn't repeat the feat. They only managed to cut the Warriors' lead to 14 with four minutes left.
“There was a point in the fourth quarter where we got a little loose,” Curry said. “Fortunately, this was our best 48-minute performance. We were making them work on the defensive end. It was a great night.”
Andre Iguodala had 22 points off the bench.
The raucous fans did all they could for the home team.
Thompson was called for a travel early in the game, and Kerr went ballistic on the sideline.
"They're allowed to call travel on All-Stars, Kerr," shouted a male fan sitting nearby.
A questionable foul call went against the Warriors midway through the second quarter, prompting the crowd to break out in cheers. Durant, on his way to the bench, began clapping while walking past official Ben Taylor and muttered, "Good job. Good job."
Taylor hit him with a technical foul, to Durant's surprise. Taylor didn't appreciate Durant showing him up. Durant disagreed. The fans again let Durant and the Warriors hear about how much they approved of the ref's ruling.
Taylor wasn't done, though.
After Durant was awarded three free throws for a foul that should have been ruled on the floor, Grizzlies coach David Fizdale was ejected after two quick technicals three minutes into the third quarter. He was arguing that the calls weren't consistent.
Inconsistency on the offensive end is what did in the Grizzlies.
With the game seconds away from closure, a few fans began chanting, "Let's go Westbrook."
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