NBA: Jordan Poole, shorthanded Warriors still beat Grizzlies in playoff rematch
Jordan Poole #3 of the Golden State Warriors is congratulated by the injured Stephen Curry after Poole made a three-point shot against the Memphis Grizzlies during the first quarter at Chase Center on December 25, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images/AFP
Jordan Poole bombed in team-high 32 points before getting ejected and the shorthanded Golden State outgunned the foul-plagued Memphis Grizzlies 123-109 on Sunday in San Francisco in a highly anticipated rematch of the Western Conference semifinals.
Playing without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors still managed to outscore the Grizzlies 54-27 from 3-point range en route to their 13th home win in 15 attempts this season.
Jordan Poole dropped 32 PTS and 3 threes in the Golden State #NBAXmas W! 🎄🎁 pic.twitter.com/ik17td3FLu
— NBA (@NBA) December 26, 2022
Ja Morant led all scorers with 36 points for Memphis, which played most of the night without Jaren Jackson Jr. (21 minutes) and Dillon Brooks (30 minutes), both of whom fought foul trouble.
The Warriors won for just the third time in 10 games. The Grizzlies finished a nine-day road trip with a 1-3 mark.
A runner in the lane by Morant had the Grizzlies within 80-77 with 4:52 remaining in the third period before Ty Jerome spearheaded a Golden State surge.
The two-way player, formerly of the Oklahoma City Thunder, nailed 3- and 2-point hoops to expand the lead to eight, then followed a free throw by teammate Jonathan Kuminga with another 3-pointer to make it a 12-point advantage.
When Poole completed an 11-0 flurry by scoring with 3:05 left in the period, the Warriors had blown the game open at 91-77 and were able to coast home.
Golden State prevailed despite six technical fouls, two of which got Poole ejected.
The Grizzlies, who entered the game tied for the best record in the Western Conference, lost a six-game playoff series to the Warriors in May after Morant sustained a knee injury in Game 3.
Jerome and fellow two-way player Anthony Lamb contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the Warriors. Poole shot 11-for-25 shooting en route to his team-high point total. Klay Thompson had 24 points, Donte DiVincenzo contributed 19 and Draymond Green added 13 rebounds and 13 assists.
Green finished with just three points, while Moses Moody was a third Warrior providing double-figure points off the bench with 10.
DiVincenzo shot 5-for-9 on 3-point tries, helping Golden State go 18-for-44 (40.9 percent), while Memphis struggled to just 9-for-39 (23.1 percent).
Morant went 15-for-29 from the floor but just 2-for-10 from beyond the arc. He also found time for a team-high eight assists and seven rebounds.
Brooks and Tyus Jones added 13 points apiece and Jackson had 11 for the Grizzlies. Steven Adams was the game’s leading rebounder with 14.
