MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Stephen Curry lived up to his Most Valuable Player status with 33 points, and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 101-84 Monday night at FedExForum to even their Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.
Curry shot 11-for-22 from the floor, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range, and he also had eight rebounds and five assists. It was the point guard’s fourth 30-point game of the 2015 postseason.
The Warriors led by as many as 26 points in the third quarter. The Grizzlies’ last lead came at the 7:52 mark in the first quarter when a 3-pointer by point guard Mike Conley (10 points, seven assists and three steals) gave Memphis a 9-8 edge.
Memphis defensively clamped down on the Warriors in winning the second and third games of the series, holding them to 23 percent shooting from 3-point range. On Monday night, however, the Warriors rediscovered their outside shooting, hitting 14 of 33 (42.4 percent) from long distance. Four Golden State players made at least three 3-pointers.
Warriors forward Draymond Green scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds, guard Klay Thompson finished with 15 points, and reserve swingman Andre Iguodala contributed 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Overall, the Warriors made 38 of 80 shots from the field (47.5 percent).
Memphis hit 33 of 88 shots (37.5 percent), including just four of 18 3-point attempts (22.2 percent). Center Marc Gasol finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Forward Zach Randolph added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and forward Jeff Green also scored 12 points.
The victory kept in place the Warriors’ streak of never losing three consecutive games this season and returned home-court advantage to Golden State. Game 5 is in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday. Game 6 is back in Memphis on Friday, and Game 7, if necessary, will be in Oakland on Sunday.
The Warriors ended the first quarter on a 7-0 run as Curry knocked down his first 3-pointer of the night just before the buzzer for a 28-20 lead. The Warriors extended the margin to 61-44 at halftime. Curry led all scorers with 21 first-half points on 8-of-14 shooting.
NOTES: During the regular season, Golden State led the NBA in points scored off turnovers (19.7 points per game). This postseason, the Warriors’ average in that category dropped to 13.3 before they amassed 18 on Monday. In losing Games 2 and 3 to Memphis, Golden State turnovers led to 22 points for the Grizzlies each time. … In both Games 2 and 3, the Grizzlies held the Warriors to 39 first-half points. The Warriors scored under 40 in the first half only one time previously this season. … Going into Game 4, Memphis C Marc Gasol was averaging 19.9 points, 9.5 rebounds 4.1 assists and 1.50 blocks during the 2015 playoffs. … Warriors reserve F/C Marreese Speights was out Monday night after straining his right calf in Game 3. Veteran Golden State F David Lee, who did not play in Game 3 and totaled just nine minutes in the first two games, played 15 minutes in Game 4 in Speights’ absence.