Conley passes Marc Gasol to become the franchise all-time leading scorer in a loss to the Warriors, 118-102
MEMPHIS – On Wednesday, Curry and Durant scored 28 each to secure a win over Valanciunas and Conley in the FedExForum. Kevin Durant only missed 1 shot on the night, going 12-13 from the field, 1-1 from the three point line and knocking down three singles at the line. His 6’3 counterpart Curry finished the game going 7-20 on the court, and making 50% of his threes (6-12), whilst managing to knock down a near triple double – just three assists shy of a 28-10-10 game.
With Conleys 3 pointer made in the second quarter (2:50), he passed former teammate Marc Gasol to become the Memphis Grizzlies all time leading scorer, ending the game with 11,689 points all time for the franchise, going for 22 points and dishing out 8 assists.
Durant also made his splash in the history books, passing Glen Rice for 25th place on the NBA’s all-time career three point field goals made. He previously shared the spot with Glen, but after his three point shot this game he stood alone in the top 25.
It was the player acquired at the deadline in the deal for Gasol, Jonas Valanciunas, that led Memphis in this game with 27 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. Bruno Caboclo, G league callup from January, dished in 17 points and another 13 rebounds to help create wing strength for this team.
Despite the end score, Memphis kept the game pretty close, only trailing by 6 at the half time mark. Injuries had riddled the Memphis team recently; their rotation now being short handed. Mike Conley told reporters that the pace of the game had finally caught up with them, contributing to the fatigue on their team. In the last quarter the Warriors led by a commanding ten points to seal the deal.
Golden State’s pullaway at the fourth quarter can be looked upon as a Durant-led moment, with KD scoring seven straight points in a 9-0 run for the Warriors to make it a 100-92 game throughout the fourth quarter.
With this win, the Golden State Warriors broke a tie with the Denver Nuggets for best spot in the Western Conference. When told they had regained first spot in the West, Durant had this to say; “We’re not looking at it. Obviously it’s something, coming down the stretch of the season, you want to know what the matchups are looking like. Each game is important from top to bottom. From the eighth seed to the top, so you are going to take a peek of it, but you are not really writing it on a white board or looking at it.”
The Golden State Warriors will play against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Friday night.
The Memphis Grizzlies will begin the first quarter of their multiple-game road trip on a Saturday night against the Phoenix Suns.
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