With four players including two starters, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, sidelined for Thursday’s matchup against the Grizzlies, the Warriors needed a sensational 46-point performance from Stephen Curry to outlast a tough Memphis team.
Curry’s second-highest scoring output of the season featured eight three-pointers and 31 second half points as the Warriors improved to 26-6 ahead of a Christmas Day showdown with the 26-5 Phoenix Suns.
Beating the Grizzlies without two top scorers and two other wings, Damion Lee and Andre Iguodala, was already a difficult challenge, but the Warriors’ path to victory against the Suns appears even more arduous as rookie Moses Moody has joined Lee, Wiggins and Poole in the league’s health and safety protocols.
With Iguodala sidelined due to a knee injury and four other players unavailable due to protocols, the Warriors enter Saturday’s game needing scoring to materialize from a handful of unexpected sources.
To beat Phoenix, the top team in the Western Conference and one of only two teams to hold the Warriors under 100 points in a game this year, Golden State knows Curry must once again be at his best. The Warriors’ superstar was up for the challenge against Memphis, but admitted he’ll have to overcome some unexplainable Christmas Day shooting woes that have plagued him in the past.
“I’ve struggled a lot on Christmas for whatever reason, so I’m trying to rectify that,” Curry said Thursday. “It is weird.”
In eight career Christmas Day games, Curry is averaging just 13.1 points, which is far below his career mark of 24.3 points per game.
An encouraging sign for the Warriors is that Curry is coming off his most efficient game in weeks as the 13th-year veteran scored 46 points on just 22 field goal attempts while also making all 12 of his free throw attempts. Like Phoenix, Memphis has wings who have traditionally given Curry trouble on the perimeter, but he was able to flummox the Grizzlies’ defense with precise motion.
“It’s just trying to find the right openings and understanding I’m going to see a crowd most every possession and you’ve just got to be decisive,” Curry said postgame.
If the Warriors use a similar offensive game plan against Phoenix that they used against Memphis, expect guard Gary Payton II to play a significant role on both ends of the floor. Payton II scored a season-high 22 against the Grizzlies and took 16 field goal attempts, five more than he’s had in any other game this season.
Payton II made 4-of-7 three-point shots, including one in the final minute that helped put the Warriors’ win over the Grizzlies on ice.
“This roster is so versatile it’s really easy to find a five-man combination that allows Gary to play the way he plays and allows us to get the most out of him,” Kerr said.
Considering Thursday’s performance marked a career night for Payton II, the Warriors will likely need at least one or two other players to step up around Curry against Phoenix. Kerr expressed optimism that veterans Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica could have a larger role after combining for 17 points including 15 off of three-pointers, but Golden State may also need rookie Jonathan Kuminga to be more aggressive driving toward the hoop or for Draymond Green to assert himself more as a scorer than a facilitator.
Kuminga made two three-pointers against Memphis on Thursday, but the Warriors know the 19-year-old can be a dangerous scorer playing closer to the basket where he can use his physicality.
The clearest path to victory for the Warriors on Christmas Day requires a variety of factors to work in their favor. Against a well-rounded Phoenix team, Golden State must play excellent defense, lower its turnover output and rely on a handful of players to step up around Curry to give the team a chance to take over the top spot in the Western Conference.
Source: www.mercurynews.com