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3 observations: Everything goes wrong in Warriors’ blowout loss vs. Grizzlies in Game 5

tommy call
·3 min read
1

With the chance to close out the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 5 on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors flopped.

Instead of potentially punching a ticket to the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors registered one of their worst losses of the 2021-22 campaign.

Behind a flurry of early turnovers paired with cold shooting, the Warriors quickly dug themselves into a deep hole. In the first half, the Warriors recorded 14 turnovers alone, falling behind by 27 points at halftime. 

Things didn’t get any easier for the Warriors in the second half. Heading into the third quarter, the Warriors trailed by an eye-popping 52 points.

Seven different members of the Grizzlies registered double-figure efforts in scoring on the way to a blowout victory over the Warriors, 134-95.

With the series now sitting at 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Friday night, here’s a look at three different observations from Wednesday’s contest in Memphis.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

Desmond Bane

Following a slow start to the series due to a lingering back injury, Memphis wing Desmond Bane arrived in Game 5. The Grizzlies second-year breakout guard notched a series-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor with two assists, a steal and a board in 24 minutes on Wednesday. Bane got hot from beyond the arc, drilling four triples on six attempts from deep.

After notching 20 or more points in four different games through the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wednesday’s Game 5 was the first time Bane scored over 20 against the Warriors in the playoffs.

Turnovers

Throughout the series against the Grizzlies, the Warriors have struggled when it comes to turnovers. The Warriors have been loose with the basketball, turning it over at least 16 times in each game during the series.

On Wednesday in Game 5, it got worse for the Warriors. Golden State turned the ball over a playoff-high 22 times against the Grizzlies in Game 5. Trailing by 27 points at halftime, the Warriors already had 14 turnovers on the box score.

Draymond Green led the Warriros with five turnovers. Juan Toscano-Anderson, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry and Jordan Poole all notched two or more turnovers in Game 5.

While the Warriors have always had trouble with turnovers, they’ll need to protect the ball to have a chance at closing out the Grizzlies in Game 6 on Friday.

Klay Thompson

While there weren’t many positives to take away from the Warriors’ performance in Game 5, Klay Thompson looked to be on the way to a bounce-back performance.

In Game 4, Thompson had a cold shooting night, scoring 14 points on 6-of-20 from the field and an uncharacteristic 0-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Although the rest of his team struggled, Thompson was firing away. The 32-year-old finished with a team-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor with three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 25 minutes.

Thompson also buried three 3-pointers on six attempts from beyond the arc.

Stat Leaders

Memphis:

  • Points: Jaren Jackson, Desmond Bane, Tyus Jones (21)

  • Rebounds: Steven Adams (13)

  • Assists: Tyus Jones (9)

Golden State:

  • Points: Klay Thompson (19)

  • Rebounds: Draymond Green (7)

  • Assists: Draymond Green (5)

Highlight of the Night

Via @warriors on Twitter:

Story originally appeared on Warriors Wire