MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After a quiet first half Wednesday night at FedExForum, Stephen Curry turned up the volume in the second half and finished with a game-high 28 points as the Golden State Warriors remained the league’s only unbeaten team with a 100-84 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
A little more than a week after the Grizzlies had suffered a franchise-worst 50-point defeat to the Warriors (9-0) at Oracle Arena, Memphis scrapped to within a point of the defending NBA champions in the third quarter.
After a pair of free throws from power forward Zach Randolph (19 points, seven rebounds) with 3:37 left in the third quarter, the Grizzlies trailed 57-56. But Curry’s 17 points in the third quarter were too much and a steal and buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the league’s reigning MVP gave the Warriors a 74-63 lead going into the final frame.
Memphis (3-6) lost its fourth straight and shot just 34.3 percent, going 24-for-70 from the floor. Memphis, which entered the night ranked 29th in the NBA in made treys and 3-point percentage, went 3-for-15 from beyond the arc for 20 percent.
The Warriors shot 48 percent from the floor, going 36-for-75. They hit 11-of-27 from 3-point range for 40.7 percent.
Swingman Andre Iguodala had 20 points off the bench for Golden State and forward Harrison Barnes finished with 19 points. In addition to his 28 points, Curry had five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Center Marc Gasol scored a season-best 26 points and seven rebounds for Memphis and swingman Tony Allen chipped in 15 points. Starting point guard Mike Conley went 1-for-12 from the field and scored just four points.
Both teams were sloppy as the Grizzlies committed 21 turnovers and the Warriors made 23.
The Warriors led by as many as 15 points in the first half and were up 26-15 after a quarter. Memphis, however, outscored the Warriors 26-21 in the second quarter and Golden State’s lead was 47-41 at halftime.
Gasol led all scorers with 15 points, 13 of them coming in the second quarter and nine from the free-throw line. Harrison Barnes paced the Warriors with 13 first-half points.
NOTES: On Tuesday, the Grizzlies agreed to acquire PG Mario Chalmers and F James Ennis from the Miami Heat in exchange for PG Beno Udrih and PF Jarnell Stokes. However, Memphis coach Dave Joerger said the deal was not finalized by the league office as of Wednesday, leaving Chalmers and Ennis unavailable for the game against Golden State. G Jordan Adams (knee) and F Brandan Wright (knee) also were out. “We’re short-handed,” Joerger said. … The Warriors, the last undefeated team left in the NBA, were off to their best start since moving to the West Coast in 1962-63. … Golden State PG Stephen Curry brought a league-best, 32.4-point scoring average into Wednesday’s game. His scoring average was more than double the next-closest teammate, SG Klay Thompson, at 16.1 ppg. … Memphis was averaging 91.0 points per game, 29th in the NBA, through Tuesday.