NBA on Sling TV: Warriors at Grizzlies
Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies (8pm ET Saturday, ESPN)
On Thursday, the Warriors beat the Spurs 112-101, clinching home field advantage in the playoffs and becoming the second team in league history to win 70 games. Both teams shot well, particularly from three-point range, but the Warriors controlled the glass, outrebounding the Spurs 43-32 on a night when San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge had one of his worst games of the year. Over 29 minutes, Aldridge scored just 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting and grabbed just three rebounds. Meanwhile, the Warriors’ Steph Curry hit 11 of 19 for 27 points with nine assists and five rebounds as Golden State took an 18-15 lead late in the first quarter and never looked back. At 70-9, the Warriors need to win their remaining three games to set the single-season record for wins.
Standing in the Warriors’ path are the Memphis Grizzlies, who are limping to the end of an injury-riddled season as they jockey for position with the Portland Trail Blazers over the fifth and sixth seeds in the West. In February, the Grizz lost leading scorer and second-leading rebounder Marc Gasol to foot surgery, but continued to win, until their point guard and second-leading scorer, Mike Conley, went down with a bum achilles. Since Conely went down, the losses have piled up as they, at one point, endured a brutal 3-11 stretch. Now, they have to finish the regular season with two games against the Warriors and one against the Clippers.
Watch the Golden State Warriors vs. the Memphis Grizzlies at 8pm ET Saturday on ESPN.
All stats courtesy ESPN and Basketball Reference