With a chance to wrestle the fifth seed in the Western Conference away from the Memphis Grizzlies, Stephen Curry once again came up huge for the Golden State Warriors. In a game where his team needed him the most, Curry drained 12 3-pointers en route to a 52-point performance, outgunning a sinking Grizzlies team as the Dubs came away with a 134-125 win on the road.
It was the 37-year-old’s second 50-point performance of the season and the 15th of his career. He also finished with 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals, all while putting up a true shooting percentage of 75.3%.
Draymond Green talked about Curry’s mentality from the opening tip in his post-game press conference.
“He was locked in. You can always see the look in his eyes when he’s focused,” Green said. “He wanted this one bad and he played like it. It was beautiful to see. We needed it for sure.”
The two-time MVP opened the game on fire with 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the first quarter. In his post-game interview, Curry talked about how getting off to a hot start was huge for him and the team.
“For us to start the way we did, that’s the most important thing we did against Memphis,” Curry explained. “When we get off to slow starts, they get to control the tempo. They have us reeling, and it’s usually never a good outcome. So we were very intentional in that first quarter. Obviously shots gotta fall, but that set the tone for the whole game.”
Curry set the tone, but Memphis didn’t go away so easily. Ja Morant went on his own hot streak from deep. Morant hit five three-pointers on his way to a team-high 36 points. The Grizzlies erased the Dubs’ 17-point lead midway through the third quarter, making for a tight game the rest of the way.
But Curry stood toe-to-toe with the Grizzlies, hitting a go-ahead three with 2:55 left in the fourth quarter to cap off an 18-5 run. From there, the young Dubs stepped up. Brandin Podziemski soared in with a putback layup to push the lead to five, and Moses Moody followed that up with a dagger corner-three.
Playing through the physicality
Curry’s 52-point night didn’t come easily. In his post-game press conference, Steve Kerr applauded Curry’s night with the Grizzlies playing him extra physically.
“The guy’s 37 years old. It’s incredible,” Kerr said. “52 points with people draped over him all game long. The conditioning, the skill, the audacity, the belief – it’s just incredible to watch Steph at work. I can’t believe he’s still doing this at this age… I think [the week off] and the two rounds of golf on this road trip helped. He looks recharged and rejuvenated.”
The main culprits “draped” all over Curry were Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jaylen Wells. The two Grizzlies were hounding him 94 feet down the court and face guarding him off the ball, all game long. And all the while not getting much help from the officials in the process. Fans on social media were quick to point out plays where Curry was fouled despite the no-calls from the referees, like this play midway through the third quarter:
This was wild https://t.co/GfmSYptSaY
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) April 2, 2025
Curry talked about his mindset when it comes to playing through the frustration of not getting obvious foul calls in the same postgame interview.
“It’s my reality. I’ve been in this situation for a long time,” Curry said. “It’s like a playoff game. You have to adjust to how the game’s being called. You could have a reaction, but you don’t wanna let it distract you from what the task is. I was trying to stay as even-keeled as possible. That doesn’t mean you’re passive or giving in to it. You’re fighting through it and not looking to get bailed out even though you feel like it’s not going anywhere.”
Jockeying in the West and the Warriors’ playoff standings
With the win over the Grizzlies, the Warriors leapfrogged them for the fifth seed in the West. They’ve not only secured a half a game lead over Memphis in the standings, but they’ve also secured the head-to-head tiebreaker.
That’s critically important in the five-through-eight playoff seed jockeying. The Warriors own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Los Angeles Clippers hold that over the Dubs. They have a half-game lead over the T-Wolves and a full-game lead over the Clippers.
As a result, Golden State has created a tiny cushion between all three of those teams, keeping them above the dreaded play-in tournament cutoff. However, they still face a huge gauntlet in their next three games.
They have a back-to-back with the Los Angeles Lakers on the front end and the Denver Nuggets on the back end. Afterwards, they are staring at a big Houston Rockets game to close the weekend. It’s not inconceivable that the Warriors go 0-3 during that stretch. The Clippers, Timberwolves and Grizzlies all have much more favorable matchups in the coming days.
So, while the Warriors are firmly in control of their destiny, the playoff race doesn’t get any easier from here on out. If Golden State is a serious championship contender, they will prove it in the coming days as they face the upper echelon of the West.
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