Warriors at Grizzlies
With Kevin Durant's first trip back to Oklahoma City looming on Saturday, the Golden State Warriors might be in danger of overlooking their opponent on Friday if it were any team other than the Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors will try to get the better of the only team to beat them twice this season when they visit the Grizzlies on Friday.
Golden State dropped a 110-89 decision at Memphis on Dec. 10 and squandered a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter at home on Jan. 6 before falling to the Grizzlies 128-119 in overtime. The Warriors had no issue with overlooking their last opponent and trounced a depleted Chicago Bulls' squad 123-92 on Wednesday while shooting 55.8 percent from the floor and handing out 37 assists on 48 made field goals. Going up against the offense on Friday will be a Memphis defense that held six of its last seven opponents under 100 points and is third in the NBA in scoring defense. "Our ball pressure, our physicality and our communication," Memphis center Marc Gasol told reporters when asked what he liked about the defense after a 110-91 win over Phoenix on Wednesday. "Everybody was moving together. That’s great."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), FSN Southeast (Memphis)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (44-8): Golden State's explosive offense occasionally overshadows the team's work on the other end of the floor, but the Warriors rank as one of the best defensive teams in the league as well. Golden State leads the NBA in blocks (6.5), steals (9.4) and 3-point field goal defense (31.9 percent) while ranking third in defensive field goal percentage (43.6). The Warriors limited the Bulls to 4-of-24 from 3-point range on Wednesday while Klay Thompson sparked the offense with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (33-22): Memphis resisted the urge to overlook the Western Conference-worst Suns with Golden State on the horizon and a win over the Spurs in the rearview mirror. The Grizzlies held Phoenix to 33.3 percent shooting, including 5-of-23 from 3-point range. "It’s easy to try to look over Phoenix," coach David Fizdale told reporters. "When you play a team like the Spurs with a young team like Phoenix sandwiched in between Golden State, it’s human nature to allow most teams to play a lazy, lackadaisical approach to Phoenix. I thought we came out with the right mindset and played them the right way. We are just taking one game at a time and not even getting ahead of ourselves towards Golden State."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors PF David West (thumb) and C Zaza Pachulia (shoulder) are both questionable for Friday.
2. Memphis PF Zach Randolph (left foot) sat out Wednesday but expects to play Friday.
3. Golden State PF Draymond Green went 5-of-6 from 3-point range on Wednesday after going 6-of-22 in his previous four contests.