Warriors' Dreadful Run on the Road Continues After Ugly Defeat to Grizzlies

Warriors' Dreadful Run on the Road Continues After Ugly Defeat to Grizzlies

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:27 PM
  • The Golden State Warriors have lost an eighth straight time on the road
  • The defending NBA champions lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 131 to 110
  • The Warriors have the third-worst record on the road in the season so far

The Golden State Warriors have failed to shake off a dreadful road run in the NBA. On Thursday night, they lost to their rivals Memphis Grizzlies 131-110.

The defeat was their eighth in a row away from Chase Center, tied for the longest streak since Steve Kerr took over as head coach in 2014.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors looks on during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE.
Source: Getty Images

They gave up 48 points in the first quarter, in which they started Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo, and Draymond Green.

The visitors came back to life in the second quarter, going on a 23-7 run to cut the lead to four with 4:48 left in the half.

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However, all that momentum quickly vanished as they turned the ball over four times in two minutes, allowing the hosts' lead to balloon by 18 by the break, per Mercury News.

The reigning NBA champions couldn't recover after their small ball lineup backfired. The hosts were missing their star player, Ja Morant who is out indefinitely after he brandished a gun at a Denver nightclub.

Curry led all scorers in the game with 29 points. They have a 7-26 record on the road, the third worst in the NBA.

Kerr explains lineup decision

Warriors coach, Steve Kerr admitted he got too 'cute' with the lineups in the first quarter. He said he tried to solve the Warriors' notoriously slow starts to games, NBC Sports has reported.

"So I think, in hindsight, probably got a little too cute with that. But we are where we are. We're searching a little bit on the road and took a gamble with that, and it didn't pay off."

The game was dominated by the showdown between Green and Grizzlies' guard, Dillon Brooks. The two traded barbs earlier this week and almost got into it in the second quarter. Brooks had the last laugh this time though, per ESPN.

“Frustrating overall obviously, not being able to win a game on the road or figure out what adjustments we need to make to do it.”

Kerr's side have a 34-33 record this season and are 7-26 on the road. They return to Chase Center to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and Phoenix Suns on Monday.

Curry warns NBA teams

Sports Brief earlier reported on Curry sending a warning to NBA teams about the Warriors, saying they are a tough match-up for any team when they're healthy.

The Warriors won their fourth NBA title in eight years last season, beating the Celtics in six games, with Curry winning the Finals MVP.

The Warriors haven't lost many series when they're all healthy. They lost during the early years of the dynasty but since winning the title in 2015, are undefeated.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.