Reserve guard Jordan Poole had 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on Sunday to power Golden State over Memphis 117-116 in their NBA playoff series opener, despite the ejection of Draymond Green.
Klay Thompson sank the decisive three-pointer with 36.6 seconds remaining and the Warriors denied Grizzlies playmaker Ja Morant twice in the final seconds.
“Big win for us to start the series, get home-court advantage and get greedy in the second game,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry said.
Photo: Joe Rondone-USA Today
The Western Conference second round best-of-seven matchup continues today in Memphis, Tennessee.
In Sunday’s Eastern Conference opener, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists as defending champions the Bucks won 101-89 at Boston.
In Memphis, Curry added 24 points for Golden State, while Andrew Wiggins had 17 and Thompson 15.
Morant had 34 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Jaren Jackson had 33 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis.
The Warriors were delivered a major setback when forward Green was ejected in the second quarter for a flagrant-2 foul, striking Brandon Clarke in the face and pulling him down by the jersey.
“This is a huge game to win, especially with him going out early,” Poole said. “We were able to fill in for the energy he has.”
The Warriors responded with a strong third-quarter start.
“We were determined,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We knew that was a tough break that didn’t go our way. We were shocked by the decision. We went on a run in the third quarter to get the lead. That established we weren’t going anywhere.”
Poole scored a playoff career-high in 38 minutes off the bench, hitting 12 of 20 from the floor and five of 10 from three-point range.
“He’s a hooper, ultimate confidence in himself,” Curry said. “You can’t teach that preparation for the moment. You either have it or you don’t, and he does.”
Poole led the Warriors with 14 first-half points and added 10 in the third quarter as Golden State took a 91-90 lead.
“At the core we’ve got championship DNA and we want to utilize that,” Curry said. “At this stage that’s what it’s all about.”
Poole scored seven points in a 12-3 run to open the fourth quarter and give the Warriors a 103-93 lead before the Grizzlies battled back.
Thompson missed two late free throws and Memphis had a final shot, but Morant missed a driving layup at the buzzer.
“He had a great look. It just didn’t happen to go in,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “I love the way our guys competed. It just wasn’t good enough.”
In Boston, Antetokounmpo scored or assisted on 55 of 87 Milwaukee points made when he was on the court against the NBA’s top defenders.
“I just like to be aggressive,” Antetokounmpo said. “I want to be aggressive. My teammates want me to be aggressive. I’m trying to get into the paint for my teammates and for myself.”
Antetokounmpo made three turnovers in the first five minutes as Boston used multiple defenders to guard the Greek giant, but from there, Antetokounmpo was able to lift the Bucks despite Milwaukee playing without forward Khris Middleton due to a sprained left knee.
Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday scored a game-high 25 points with 10 rebounds, while Bobby Portis added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Celtics shot a woeful 28 of 84 from the floor and made only 10 baskets inside the three-point arc, while attempting a team playoff record 50 three-point shots.
“It’s good to get this dud out of the way,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said.
Udoka was unhappy about the Bucks scoring 27 points off 18 Celtics turnovers.
“We settled for some tougher three-point shots,” he said. “For the most part I don’t think our decisionmaking was great.”
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS