Not every win in the NBA playoffs comes easy as the Warriors were reminded on Monday night. Despite going up against a short-handed Memphis team, Golden State labored throughout much of the contest before rallying in the fourth quarter to eke out a 101–98 victory.
The Warriors took the floor Monday without coach Steve Kerr, who tested positive for COVID-19 short before tip. Assistant Mike Brown assumed the role as the team’s acting head coach, shortly after he was announced as the new head coach of the Kings earlier in the day.
The unique set of circumstances led Golden State star Stephen Curry to wonder if something else had changed with the franchise under Brown’s leadership. Due to the Warriors dreadful shooting performance, the All-NBA point guard quipped that he thought the entire team was traded to the Kings overnight.
“You talk about historically bad shooting. … A lot of history was made. [Mike Brown] was named head coach twice in 24 hours. I felt like we got traded to the Kings overnight,” Curry said with a laugh.
Curry was one of the few bright spots for Golden State on Monday, scoring 32 points on 10-of-25 shooting. However, the Warriors shot a dreary 9-of-37 (24.3%) from beyond the arc, which almost undid them against the Grizzlies without All-Star point guard Ja Morant.
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Thankfully for Curry and the rest of Golden State’s roster, they didn’t get traded to Sacramento, a team that finished 30–52 this season. Instead, the Warriors took a 3–1 advantage in their series against the Grizzlies, putting them on a cusp of a Western Conference Finals berth.
Golden State will try to close out Memphis in Game 5 on Wednesday.
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