The Golden State Warriors' 128-119 loss in overtime to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday may have been their toughest defeat of the season. Sure, you can lose on a last-second, game-winning shot like they did on Christmas Day to the Cleveland Cavaliers. You can also fall short in a knock down, drag them out battle like they did against the Houston Rockets in double overtime. The real tests come when everything seems to fall apart. Last night, everything fell apart.
After finishing the third quarter with a 98-79 lead, the Warriors seemed destined to coast their way to the victory. Then, Golden State went very, very cold, shooting 2-for-13 from the floor in the fourth quarter as a team and committing five turnovers. The Grizzlies outscored the Warriors 32-13 in the period to tie the game and took that momentum into overtime, where they sealed the comeback win.
Towards the end of the fourth quarter, things seemed to be splitting at the seams for the Warriors. With Golden State clinging to a two-point lead with less than a minute remaining, Kevin Durant called his own number instead of allowing the team to run a play. Never one to hide his emotions, Draymond Green couldn't mask his feelings towards their failed possession.
When the Warriors returned from a timeout, a visibly upset Green could be seen explaining to Durant that he wanted the team to run a pick-and-roll instead of an isolation play.
Durant commented on his Green's style of in-game confrontation, saying, "You need someone to just be real."
“I’m actually happy we lost today,” Green said, per the San Francisco Chronicle. “There are some things we need to correct to win a championship.” Seeing the silver lining in the Warriors' loss to the Grizzlies, Draymond added, “I’m kind of thrilled that we lost, because you normally make corrections when you lose.”
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