Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2018-19 on Friday night, with a 110-96 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, winning the series in six games.
Klay Thompson led Golden State in scoring with 30 points. It was his highest-scoring performance of this year’s playoffs. Steph Curry had 29 and Andrew Wiggins chipped in with 18. Warriors center Kevon Looney had a game-high 22 rebounds. 11 of them were offensive boards while 10 were defensive. The Warriors recorded 70 total rebounds, an NBA high this season. On Warriors coach Mike Brown’s decision to start Looney: “It was Draymond’s call. Draymond and Steph,” Brown said.
After missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the Warriors are now one series win away from advancing to the franchise’s seventh NBA Finals. Golden State awaits the winner of the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, who are playing in a Game 7 on Sunday.
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Warriors’ Winning Strategy
From the first minute, the Warriors looked like the hungrier side. They rebounded better and that was a massive factor in the win. The Warriors piled up 70 rebounds to close out the Grizzlies. That’s an NBA high for rebounds by any team in any game this season. Kevon Looney had 21, Draymond Green had 15, and Andrew Wiggins had 11. They had 45 defensive rebounds and 25 offensive rebounds. They shot better too. Klay took control of the game and he delivered 8 made threes. Steph also closed out the game shooting 3 of 5 from three-point range.
They will be waiting patiently to see who wins the Dallas/Phoenix game 7. Regardless of who they face, the Warriors will believe in themselves and their ability to perform in pressure moments. Each team provides a unique test—Dallas with their excellent spacing and Luka Doncic or Phoenix with just about everything. The Eastern Conference finals promise to be exciting.
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