MEMPHIS, Tenn. — By the time Jake LaRavia swished a 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies an eye-popping 123-66 lead early in the fourth quarter Thursday night, the nights for Stephen Curry and Draymond Green had been long over.
The Golden State Warriors had such a brutal and humiliating evening that their two stars didn’t even realize they had failed to make a field goal in a game together for the first time in their careers as Memphis rolled to a 144-93 win — the largest in the NBA this season — at FedEx Forum.
The Grizzlies, winners of 11 of their last 13 games, smothered Curry into just two points and 0-for-7 shooting, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range. It was Curry’s most field goal attempts and most minutes (24) without a make in his 16-year career.
Green went scoreless, missing all four of his shots in 19 minutes.
“Damn, that happen,” Green said after being told that he and Curry didn’t make a field goal in a game together for the first time. “Oh s—. That’s crazy … they did a good job. Give them some credit.”
Frustrated by foul trouble, the 13-year veteran was a shocking minus-42 and Curry was a minus-41.
“First time for everything, right?” Curry said. “I never thought that would be a situation or a result of the game. From the very jump they kind of punched us in the mouth. We didn’t have an answer.
“… That was kind of embarrassing.”
Golden State (14-12) now has lost nine of its last 11 games after a 12-3 start. Three of those losses have come by four points or less after the Warriors had difficulty scoring down the stretch. But in this one, they looked overmatched almost from the start.
The Grizzlies opened a 13-2 lead and kept adding to it. The Warriors trailed by 31 points at the half and then by 46 when coach Steve Kerr took out his starters out with 5:09 left in the third quarter.
Memphis made a franchise-record 27 3-pointers, and defensively, it suffocated Golden State.
“It was just a humbling night all around,” Kerr said. “I mean, they took it to us. They were great. We just couldn’t get anything going.
“… You lose by 51. That’s humbling. So what I know about this team, this is the second time we’ve been blown out. We got blown out in Cleveland early in the season, so I know who we are. I know what our team is about. I know we’ve got competitors. I know we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to regroup, so I’m not concerned about that. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to execute.”
Despite the massive loss, the Warriors’ locker room wasn’t devastated. Kerr, Curry and Green all said they remain confident that the team is good enough to rebound.
“I expect us to respond,” Green said of the Warriors’ next game in Minnesota on Saturday.
Newly acquired Dennis Schroder started in his debut Thursday, with Kerr moving Jonathan Kuminga to the second unit after the power forward started the previous six games. Kerr opted to start Green and Kevon Looney to set more of a defensive tone from the start but that didn’t happen.
Schroder shot just 2 for 12 and finished with five points and five assists. But as Green pointed out, Schroder wasn’t to blame for this loss.
It marked the Warriors’ third 50-point defeat under Kerr, and the second during this calendar year (140-88 at Boston on March 3).
“That was a rough one, too,” Curry said. “[But] I like the vibes [around the team] better right now.
“We are going to keep saying it because I genuinely believe it — we are better than what we have been playing. We are better than what we have shown tonight. The vibes are way better. It’s nice to say it but you got to do something about it, and I feel like we can. Just wait and see.”
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