On May 2, Beijing time, the second round of the playoffs officially began, the first day of the game, the Warriors won 117-116 away to the Grizzlies, a big score of 1-0 lead, this game, the plot is really ups and downs:
— The Grizzlies started well, with Morant hitting two or three points in a row
— At the beginning of the second quarter, the Grizzlies led by as many as 13 points
— Shortly after the start of the third quarter, the Grizzlies were still leading
— Late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors went on to beat the Grizzlies by 10 points
The Warriors' advantage didn't last long, and at the end of the fourth quarter, the two sides went into a scorching position, and the score was 114-114 in the final minute
This last minute, really crazy:
With 1 minute and 16 seconds left, Morant assisted Clark in an empty receiver and the Grizzlies 116–114 Warriors
With 42.9 seconds left, the Warriors missed three consecutive offensive attempts
With 36.6 seconds left, Clark made a mistake, Thompson hit a three-pointer back and the Warriors made it 117-116 to the Grizzlies
— With 19.8 seconds left, Curry blocks Morant
— With 6.7 seconds left, the Grizzlies tactical foul and Thompson missed two free throws
—The Grizzlies made the final attack, Morant missed a layup, and the Warriors won
It has to be said that this game is very difficult for the Warriors to win, and there are several main reasons here.
First, the Grizzlies who played at home are in good shape today, especially double stars Morant and Jalan Jackson Jr., of which Morant scored 34 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals, he hit 4 three-pointers in a single game today, and in the last round of the series against the Timberwolves, Morant also shot a total of 4 three-pointers.
Jaron Jr. is in better shape, 10-of-18, 6-of-9 from three-point range, 7-of-9 from the free throw line, 33 points and 10 rebounds, and for comparison, Jaren Jr. averaged only 11.8 points per game against the Timberwolves in the last round, and the highest score was only 18 points.
Second, Thompson's hand was sluggish, although he hit a key three-pointer, but then he also very rarely missed two free throws, and after the whole game, Thompson was 6 of 19, 3 of 10 three-pointers, and only had 15 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists.
Three, the Warriors foul crisis, at the end of the half, Green has been ousted, Curry three fouls, Thompson also three fouls, speaking of which, some of the penalties of this game are also full of controversy:
In the second quarter that led to Green's expulsion, Green dragged Clark's shirt in defense and pulled him out of the air, and Green had a protective action when Clark landed, but the referee still blew a second-degree malicious foul
— With 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Dillon caused Curry's offensive foul, slow motion showed that Dillon's feet were not yet standing, and the Warriors applied for a challenge, and the challenge failed
— With 3.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Thompson missed the second free throw and the Grizzlies touched the ball, and the referee actually gave the ball a scramble
In addition, some of the Warriors' clean cuts have also been blown into defensive fouls - we have always liked to discuss penalties, but the penalty of this game is really incomprehensible, and statmuse, a well-known foreign data website, can't help but write: The Warriors just won a 5v8 game.
In addition, including Mitchell, Trae Young, Lillard and others have said on social media that there is a problem with the decision of this game, especially Green's second-level malicious foul, after the game, Curry, Green himself said that this foul is not worth green being sent off.
Putting aside the penalty and returning to the game, the best player for this Game of warriors is really not Curry, who started, but Poole, who came off the bench.
In the whole game, Poole shot 12 of 20, 5 of 10 from three points, 2 of 2 from the free throws, and scored 31 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 blocks, his points, rebounds, assists, and blocks were the highest in the whole unit, and the plus-minus value on the field was +10, which was also the highest in the whole team.
So far in the playoffs, Poole has averaged 22.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game, shooting 56.1%/48.8%/85.7% of the three shots, and the true shooting rate is an incredible 72.1%, of which in the first three games of the Nuggets series, Poole scored 30 points, 29 points and 27 points respectively.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Poole's playoff performance is completely All-Star level, and after some proof from the playoffs, Poole's value will surely continue to rise - in the middle of this season, Poole's next contract is expected to be 4 years and 80 million, and at the end of the season, it will become 4 years and 100 million, and now look, if Poole can maintain this state, 4 years and 100 million is really not expensive, and even the annual salary of 30 million is not too much.
Of course, poole still needs to focus on this series at the moment, and although the Warriors won the first game, they can't be happy too soon, after all, the playoffs need to win four games to advance, and I hope that the next game, CP3 (three referees are more fair, similar to today's controversial decisions, whether it is against the Grizzlies or the Warriors, do not appear again.)