The Grizzlies tried their best, they had the location and the weather, and although the Warriors rested longer, physical strength was never a problem for the Grizzlies' young men. So in the opening, the Grizzlies pounced on the Warriors.
The Grizzlies' strategy for Curry is naturally to pinch the attack, and the Warriors' strategy for Morant can also be thought of, that is, to let him shoot three points. And Morant naturally knew what the Warriors would do with him, and he opened with three consecutive three-point shots, giving the Warriors a headshot.
Warriors fans can't help but feel that the nightmare has returned, and last year's playoffs, the Warriors finally fell on Morant's three-pointer. And Morant is also competitive enough that every time he plays the Warriors, he can always shoot the three points given to him by those Warriors.
The impact of the Grizzlies allowed them to establish a maximum 13-point lead, and Curry, Klay and Payton Jr. all received three fouls on the Grizzlies in the half, and the dream chaser was directly expelled.
Regarding the expulsion of the dream chaser, most fans believe that the penalty is too heavy, including many players and the media also think so. But the warriors have no dreams, in fact, they can also fight.
In the second half, Kerr changed sides passively or actively, and took Up and Rooney in the starting lineup. Poole, Curry and Klay all revolved around Rooney's cover, curry scored 10 points in a row, and the Warriors' terrifying firepower reappeared.
Poole scored 10 points in both the second and third quarters, and several shots today were tough, shattering doubts about him taking a break as soon as he came off the bench. Today's Poole scored 31 points, the highest in the team.
But the Grizzlies have not fallen, Morant's unsolvable breakthrough inevitably makes the Warriors lose one or the other, they selectively emptied the three-pointer of Jaren Jackson Jr., JJJ punished the Warriors' defensive strategy today, he made 6 of 9 three-pointers, 33 points and 10 rebounds.
So the game entered the decisive moment, at this time the Warriors' lineup is splash tea plus Peyton Gavikins, an extreme five small. The whole lineup is clearly to let Morant hold the ball and single out, and if you can kill it, even if you are strong.
Then Morant really killed crazy, he was in the middle of no man's land, several times to open the score difference. But at the same time, the Warriors were able to respond every time, and the confrontation between the two sides reached the climax of the game.
Today's Morant had 34 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, and 4-of-11 from three-point range. A 31-point 34-pointer isn't much of an efficiency, but Morant nearly pulled the Warriors off the horse.
In addition, today Morant, JJJ and Poole all scored 30+, and all three of them are under 22, which is the first time in NBA playoff history.
In times of crisis, when the Warriors trailed by two points, it was Klay who stepped forward. He finally hit a three-pointer on the right, and he scored the most crucial one of the most crucial shots, and the Warriors surpassed by one point.
Morant took the ball in his hand again, broke through and jumped to prepare for a shot, thinking it would be an easy shot, but was slapped by Curry. That's right, Curry's key defense.
The Grizzlies could only foul Clay, but Clay missed a rare two-shot miss, and Morant was given the chance to kill. Payton Jr. was killed by the red-eyed Morant step by step, and at the critical juncture, it was Clay's defense that interfered with Morant, and he redeemed himself with two missed penalties.
So the semi-finals were over, and the Grizzlies should have won this game where Curry and Klay were not too accurate, and Chasing Dream was sent off. But the Warriors won the game again with their small lineup, with their defense, and you have to sigh, the Warriors are still the Warriors.