Warriors roll past Grizzlies in Game 1 of West semis
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry had 22 points and seven assists, and the Golden State Warriors wore down the undermanned Memphis Grizzlies in a 101-86 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday.
Klay Thompson added 18 points and Draymond Green scored 16 to help the top-seeded Warriors roll to their 21st straight victory at raucous Oracle Arena. They led by nine at the half, 20 late in the third quarter and never let the Grizzlies build any momentum in the fourth.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday night in Oakland.
Marc Gasol had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Zach Randolph finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for a Memphis team missing point guard Mike Conley. He sat on the bench in a suit, his left eye still swollen, as he continues to recover from surgery to repair broken bones in his face.
It’s unclear when, or if, Conley will return in the series.
The Grizzlies can use all the help they can get now. Curry, the MVP favorite, got off to a slow start before joining the sweet-shooting performance Golden State put on in front of its home crowd.
The Warriors shot 50.6 percent, including 46.4 percent from 3-point range (13 of 28), to keep fans that formed a sea of golden yellow shirts roaring all afternoon. Memphis shot 45.2 percent but was just 3 of 12 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.
So much for any rust after the Warriors’ first-round sweep of New Orleans earned them an eight-day layoff.
Curry pushed the pace from start to finish, and the Grizzlies never could slow Golden State down. The Warriors went ahead by 16 in the second quarter and looked ready to rout the road team early.
That would have to wait.
Wizards 104, Hawks 98
ATLANTA — After resting up for the past week, the Washington Wizards merely had to withstand Atlanta’s early pace.
Once the Hawks ran out of gas, Bradley Beal and the Wizards took control.
Just call them the road warriors.
Beal shook off a sprained ankle to score 28 points and streaking Washington remained unbeaten in the postseason, knocking off top-seeded Atlanta in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
It was another gritty performance by the Wizards, who improved to 8-1 on the road in the playoffs over the past two postseasons, including 3-0 this year. They became the first team in NBA history to win four straight Game 1s on the road.
“Just withstanding adversity,” said John Wall, who had 18 points and 13 assists. “We know they’re going to come out and give us a punch right away.”
Taking advantage of a week off since their sweep of Toronto, the Wizards wore down the Hawks in the fourth quarter. Otto Porter scored a couple of big baskets coming down the stretch, including a 3-pointer, and Marcin Gortat sealed it with a lay-in off a pass from Wall with 14.6 seconds remaining.
“We kept talking about it’s a long game,” Washington coach Randy Wittman said. “We got better and better and better.”
