Three minutes and 27 seconds before the end of the fourth quarter, the Warriors led the Grizzlies by three points 99-96. The Warriors took out the ace kill "Curry Chasing demolition", Stephen Curry held the ball, and Draymond Green covered.
The Grizzlies are well aware of the power of Curry and Green's blocking, and they chose to switch to anti-pinch Curry. As a result, Curry made a difficult three-point shot against Jaren Jackson after changing the defense, and the ball was hollowed into the basket, and the Warriors' lead extended to 6 points.
After hitting the three-pointer, Curry punched and roared, releasing the anger that had been held for a long time. Last season's playoffs, the Warriors were kicked out by the Grizzlies, and the Warriors' first defeat this season was also due to the Grizzlies, and it was reversed by the opponent's 19 points. In both matches, Curry's decisive moments were not satisfactory.
Again and again, curry didn't fall in front of the Grizzlies again today, this time he took over the key moment. Even without Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Damian Lee, and even after being stalked by Dillon Brooks for a lot of time, Curry still put out almost the best performance of the season, he shot 13 of 22, including 8 of 14 three-pointers, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists on 12 free throws, with a team-high plus-minus of +15 points.
This is Curry's fifth single-game scoring of 40 points this season, and he surpassed "Alphabet Brother" Antetokounmpo, the player with the most single 40+ times this season.
In the past two games with the Grizzlies, the Warriors have been dragged to overtime, and in both games Curry was completely muted in the fourth quarter and overtime. But today, Curry single-handedly scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, while the Grizzlies scored just 21 points as a whole.
For Curry, the Grizzlies have been a special opponent. During the Warriors' reign, the Black and White Bears era of the Grizzlies relied on the iron barrel defense to create endless trouble for Curry, and the perimeter defense of Tony Allen and Mike Conley and the basket of Mark Gasol have repeatedly allowed Curry to play a dismal offensive efficiency.
Today, the Grizzlies have entered the Morant era, but this Grizzlies still have the temperament of an old Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have Brooks, Desmond Bain and Melton, a few 3D players who can match Curry, jackson Jr., who has athleticism, and Steven Adams, who is strong in guarding the basket (Valanciunas last season). In the last two seasons, the Grizzlies' defense has caused Curry a lot of trouble.
The Grizzlies, like the Raptors, have their own beliefs about targeting Curry. The Raptors are adhering to the policy of "the game can be lost, but Curry must be 'dead'", and Nas will make heavy use of gambling defensive strategies such as bag clips and one-staring quads, preferring to be blown up by the rest of the Warriors than strangle Curry.
The Grizzlies' approach is different, they insist that Brooks defend Curry, and the basic policy is 4:
First, when Curry does not hold the ball, stick to Curry, always keep between Curry and the Warriors ball carrier, while paying attention to the direction of the Warriors ball carrier,Limit Curry's receiving the ball as much as possible.
Second, when Curry blocked and demolished, the big one delayed not to give Curry a shot, Brooks used the time difference to quickly return to the position and continue to stick to Curry.
Third, when Curry entered the inside line, the Grizzlies were surrounded by multiple people, and even if Curry sent an assist, it did not give him the opportunity to score easily.
Fourth, when Curry holds the ball and blocks the ball, facing the pinch pass, Brooks will continue to cling to Curry and prevent him from taking the ball back.
In last season's Warriors- Grizzlies play-off, Curry faced Brooks on 10 of his first 20 shots, resulting in just two of 10 shots. In the fourth quarter and key moments of overtime, Curry had difficulty scoring under Brooks' strict defense, and there were 7 turnovers in the whole game. American journalists have said that Brooks' defense of Curry is the best they have ever seen, praising him for his discipline when defending Curry.
Today, the Grizzlies' defensive strategy against Curry has not changed, brooks and his teammates have put a lot of physical confrontation on Curry, preventing him from receiving the ball, and the opening stage is indeed significant. But as the game progressed, the Grizzlies found that the same strategy failed.
Because, in essence, the Grizzlies' strategy is based on the premise that the rest of the Warriors players can't provide much support to Curry, and today Wiggins, Poole, Lee, and Iguodala don't play, and it is reasonable to say that the Warriors' offensive firepower is missing a lot, and this strategy can work. But the Grizzlies can't count anything, Gary Payton II hit 4 three-pointers and scored 22 points in his career masterpiece, how high the desire and efficiency of Green who seemed to be holding a hot potato when he hit the basket last season, Porter and Bjelica shot 5 of 10 three-pointers, and even rookie Cuminga hit 2 three-pointers when he was released.
In the Grizzlies' established strategy, switching defenses is not the best choice. But when the Warriors' role players blossomed more, the Grizzlies could only suddenly change their defensive strategy to a change of defense. In this way, Curry was liberated, and he was the superstar in the league who was least afraid of changing defenses.
Curry's no-ball run used the cover to get rid of adams to change defenses, he used a fake move to shake Adams away and retreated to hit a three-point shot, Adams could not do anything.
In the final moments of the fourth quarter, in the face of the crazy bite after Jackson Jr.'s change of defense, Curry idly dribbled through to the basket to make a layup.
Since breaking Ray Allen's record and becoming the all-time three-point king, Curry has completely shaken off his previous anxiety and returned to normal levels. Curry has scored 76 points and hit 12 three-pointers in the last two games, and he has responded to questions about his condition with a killing performance.
This also makes people look forward to the year-end battle between the Warriors and the Suns on December 26, the two teams have played each other in the first two games, Curry only shot 4 of 21 and 8 of 20 respectively, the performance did not reach the normal level, the Warriors 1 win and 1 loss. Now that Curry has adjusted his form, can he continue to stage a killing performance to take the Warriors back to the top of the Western Conference?