The Memphis Grizzlies just walked off their home court while facing elimination from the playoffs with one of the most dominant wins in recent playoff history. While the fourth-quarter bench play saw the Warriors outscore the Grizzlies by double digits, they still fell to a 39-point loss. The final score was 95-134, with the Warriors trailing by 52 when the third quarter ended.
This is one of the most embarrassing Golden State performances in the playoffs and has cast severe doubts on their ability to make a deep run in the post-season. While they are still expected to beat the Grizzlies once in their next two games, this loss can serve as a momentum-ending blow.
Fans on Twitter were shocked by the performance that this Grizzlies team put in without Ja Morant available and ripped into the Warriors for playing the way they did in a possible close-out game.
The Warriors should be ashamed of themselves
— KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) May 12, 2022
Warriors tryna stop the Grizzlies pic.twitter.com/L0QJAXcbzr
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) May 12, 2022
Ja watching the Grizz go up 49 points on the Warriors: pic.twitter.com/fcQytReLaH
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 12, 2022
Should’ve known Warriors was gon lose when Steph was talkin bout some “whoop that trick” lmaooooo
— Niko (@nikotaughtyou) May 12, 2022
this is one of the worst games I have ever seen
— Golden State of Mind (@unstoppablebaby) May 12, 2022
I can't believe what we're witnessing. No matter how many times the Grizzlies won without Ja, no matter how many times the Warriors played with horrible effort, no one could've seen this coming
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) May 12, 2022
After 3Q:
Grizzlies 119
Warriors 67
FIFTY TWO point lead. pic.twitter.com/bBWS1udc38
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 12, 2022
Tough night for the Warriors in 5 crowd
— Bryson Wright (@BrysonWright3) May 12, 2022
Warriors playing like a team that wants that Game 6 home revenue lol
— r/Warriors 🏆 (@GSWReddit) May 12, 2022
This is an embarrassing loss for the Warriors. It's one thing to get blown out, but by 50 points in a closeout game of the playoffs? There will need to be some serious self-reflection after this one.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) May 12, 2022
https://twitter.com/PeriwinkleRip/status/1524591966360686593
sac legit may fire mike brown after this ass whooping
— Chandler Parsons (@ChandlerParsons) May 12, 2022
The Kings seeing Mike Brown coach the Warriors pic.twitter.com/3Q4JcTXayD
— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) May 12, 2022
Nothing went right for the Warriors on the night. Despite Klay Thompson showing flashes of strong shooting, the Grizzlies’ defense suffocated the Warriors as much as they could. Steph Curry couldn’t score, nor create for others. Jordan Poole was not a factor offensively, and the same can be said for Draymond Green.
The Grizzlies have always defended better without Ja Morant, but this game was incredible from their perspective. They punished the Warriors on both sides of the floor, making the most of easy scoring opportunities and restricting any easy buckets for the Warriors. It was a complete team effort from the Grizzlies, with players like Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Tyus Jones, and others all stepping up in Ja’s absence.
This Grizzlies team is streaky, so we can’t say whether they can pull off a 3-1 comeback in this series. What we can say is that this gritty Grizzlies team will do whatever they can to make that a reality and Game 5 was a terrific starting point.
