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WATCH: Stephen Curry Shows Ja Morant That He’s Not Just Unbeatable On Offence as Crucial Block Decides Warriors vs Grizzlies In Crunch Time

Published 05/02/2022, 10:30 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The Golden State Warriors won the first game of the playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies with a scoreline of 117-116. The Grizzlies took an 8-point lead in the first quarter, but the Warriors came back to win it in the end. And the splash brothers played a huge part in the win. 

Klay Thompson is one of the best two-way players in the league. His defending is as good as his scoring prowess. While Stephen Curry is considered the best shooter ever to play the game, although he is considered a liability at the defensive end. But Curry came up clutch with lockdown defense and block on Ja Morant during the dying seconds of the fourth quarter.

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With 36.6 seconds left on the clock, the Warriors took a 1-point lead, thanks to a 3-pointer from Klay Thompson. Down 1, the Grizzlies in-bounded the ball and Morant had it. After a pick, Curry switched to Ja Morant. With 11 seconds left on the shot clock, Ja Morant drove to the paint but he was well defended by Curry who then blocked his shot attempt. 

With this clutch defensive effort, Stephen Curry has shown that he is not just about scoring and can help his team in multiple ways.

Wild ending to game 1

The last few possessions of game 1 were absolutely wild. With 1:35 left on the quarter, the score was tied at 114. The Grizzlies in-bounded the ball, and when Ja missed his left-handed scoop layup, the ball was deflected and went out of bounds. The refs gave the ball to the Warriors, but the Grizzlies took a time out and reviewed the play to get it back. 

USA Today via Reuters

Then the Grizzlies executed a perfectly drawn inbound play by coach Taylor Jenkins to score 2 points. The Warriors were again down by 2 points with 1:16 left in the fourth quarter. Peyton found an open Kaly, but he missed his 3-pointer. 

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However, Wiggins chased after the ball and recovered it, and passed it to Curry. Then Poole found an open Curry who missed his 3-point attempt. But Wiggins helped again with his hustle play. He tipped the ball from Curry’s miss and the ball ended in between Klay and Brook. As both dived and held the ball, a jump ball was given with 42.9 seconds left.

Stephen Curry and the Warriors win game 1

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In the jump ball, Brook’s tip was too much, and the ball went out of bounds. Jordan Poole in-bounded the ball to Klay Thompson who hit the clutch 3-pointer. The Warriors took a 1-point lead with 36.6 seconds left. Then Stephen Curry made his clutch block on Ja Morant. 

With 6.7 seconds left, Klay had the chance to put the Warriors up by 3 points. Shockingly, he missed both the free throws. But again, the Grizzlies could not grab the rebound, and the ball went out of bounds. The refs were not sure who touched it last and both the teams didn’t have any reviews left.

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So a jump ball was given which the Grizzlies won and took a time out with 3.6 seconds left. In the final play, Ja Morant again tried the left-handed scoop layup, but it was defended well by Klay. Ja missed it and the Warriors won game 1. 

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Written by:

Bagavathi Eswaran

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Bagavathi Eswaran is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He has been playing the game of basketball for more than 20 years now and has also been following the NBA for more than 10 years. After not being able to go pro, this former college player decided to join the IT industry.
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Edited by:

Ajinkya Aswale