Okay, so here I am trying to make sense of last night’s basketball showdown, and let me tell you, it was a wild ride. We had Jimmy Butler – or should I say Playoff Jimmy – totally in his element. But the catch? It’s not even the playoffs, it’s the play-in. Confusing, right? Butler managed to drop 38 points, hit the charity stripe 18 times, snagged seven boards, and tossed out five assists. The Warriors really needed every bit of that because their offense, frankly, was kind of sluggish. Hey, I get it, some days you’re just not feeling it.
In the clutch moments, though, that’s when things got spicy. Uncle Steph – okay, Stephen Curry – sank a couple of those sweet 3’s, and the Warriors barely squeaked past Memphis with a 104-101 victory. Boom. With this win, the Warriors lock in the No. 7 seed for the West and now they’re Houston-bound to clash with the Rockets. I can’t stress enough how evenly these teams are matched. Seriously, flip a coin. Meanwhile, Memphis is heading home to prep for another battle on Friday, waiting to see who survives the Dallas vs. Sacramento skirmish to snag the eighth spot.
So, this game… It’s like, hello, Warriors are not an easy out. I’m talking tenacious, you know? It all starts with Playoff – or should I say Play-in – Jimmy, who, by the way, takes a lot off Curry’s shoulders in terms of making buckets.
And speaking of Jimmy – there was this moment that just made me chuckle. “I know I want to win a championship so he needs, his what, this would be No. 5?” Not really sure where he was going with that, but it’s proof that we all have our moments of undecipherable mumble.
From the get-go, Butler went right at Memphis’s tower player, 7’4″ Zach Edey. Butler’s like, “Oh, you wanna sag off me? Watch this.” Drained a few treys in his face, which, obviously, forced Edey to step up. That’s when Butler switched it up, drove into the paint, and drew a bunch of fouls.
Besides Butler, others pitched in. I can’t forget Gary Payton II and Quinten Post, who came off the bench like, “Hi, hello, we’re here too.” Classic Curry also made an appearance because, you know, he HAS to seal the deal.
Grizzlies began strong, but then the Warriors were like, “Nah,” and settled down. Their defense kept Memphis out of the paint effectively, holding them to 38.7% shooting. Talk about frustrating them into mistakes. A bunch of Memphis turnovers translated into easy buckets and, honestly, it was like the Warriors got to choose whatever they wanted to do on offense. They got up by 20 points at one point – no kidding!
Gotta give credit where it’s due, though – Memphis did claw their way back. Took a lead in the fourth and had a chance to flip the script in the dying seconds. Desmond Bane, with 30 points and some sweet shots from downtown, was on fire. Ja Morant worked magic with 22 despite rolling his ankle – ouch – and Jaren Jackson Jr. tossed in another 18. And, I don’t really get the math here, but Edey ended the game with 14 points, 17 boards, and somehow a +6, even though everyone was torching him.
When crunch time hit, the Warriors just… did their thing. Curry magic, and sure, having experience at the organizational level doesn’t hurt your chances at all.
Coach Steve Kerr said something like, “It took 83 games but we’re right where we want to be.” Makes you think – sometimes it takes ages to get precisely where you need to be, doesn’t it? Alright, onto the Rockets – let’s see what they’re made of.
