Warriors use 22-0 run to blow past Grizzlies

That’s one way to get the job done.

After a pretty poor loss on Monday night, the Golden State Warriors recovered on Wednesday with a game they absolutely needed to win, blowing out the Memphis Grizzlies 137-116. The teams may be rivals when healthy, but with Ja Morant out for the year and Steven Adams traded, Memphis has long-since punted on the season ... meaning anything short of a win would have been an indefensible outcome for the Dubs.

At first they seemed up to the task. The offense was crisp and fluid and the defense locked in as Golden State jumped out to a 13-5 run, forcing the Grizzlies to call an early timeout. But the timeout was effective, and soon Steve Kerr was calling one as well, with the lead cut to one. That timeout proved less effective, as the teams went back and forth until the quarter ended, with the Dubs up just 33-32.

That continued into the second quarter. We were all waiting for the Warriors to put their foot on the gas and blow past a lottery-bound, heavily-injured team, but the Dubs were taking their sweet time. The offense was still functioning fairly well, but Golden State was having an awful time staying in front of players on defense.

Halfway through the quarter, things got chippy between Draymond Green, Desmond Bane, and Santi Aldama, with a minor scuffle ensuing between players, coaches, and refs at mid-court.

It seemed to invigorate the Dubs, who rattled off an 8-0 run, though Memphis immediately responded.

With just a few minutes remaining in the half, the teams looked destined to enter the halftime locker room with horns locked in a tight game. And then things changed in a hurry.

Aided by some dominance from Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors fired off a 10-0 run in the blink of an eye, ending the half up 68-58. And when the third quarter resumed, it was as though those few minutes had just been replayed. Before you knew it, Golden State had scored 12 straight points to open the second half ... in all, it was a 22-0 run that took less than four-and-a-half minutes, and the game had gone from tied to a blowout in no time at all.

From there on, the Dubs simply cruised to a victory. The bench was fantastic for the rest of the third quarter, with Klay Thompson (23 points), Chris Paul (14 assists), and Trayce Jackson-Davis (13 points and five rebounds) making sure Memphis never made it close.

The fourth quarter brought about no drama whatsoever. Or at least no negative drama; with the win firmly secured, the back-of-the-bench mob got a good run of minutes, which resulted in Pat Spencer scoring his first career points. That’s always worth celebrating!

Kuminga led the way for the Dubs, netting a team-high 26 points on 12-for-17 shooting, and adding five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Andrew Wiggins had his best game in a while, with a hyper-efficient double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Steph Curry only dropped in 14 points, but he only took nine shots.

With a much-needed win in the books, the Dubs will now get a day off before hosting the Indiana Pacers on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. PT.