The Warriors were without their best defender in Draymond Green in the closing moments of Game 1 against the Grizzlies, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson filled the shoes of the former Defensive Player of the Year with two clutch stops down the stretch.
Green was ejected in the second quarter for a flagrant-2 foul, leaving the Warriors without their defensive anchor for the entire second half.
MORE: Why was Green ejected in Game 1 vs. Grizzlies?
As a result, the Grizzlies' tandem of Ja Morant (34 points) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (33 points) exploded for a combined 67 points to put Memphis in position to take Game 1 before the Warriors displayed their "championship resilience," as All-Star guard Damian Lillard put it on Twitter.
Trailing by two points with under a minute to play, the Warriors corralled three (!) offensive rebounds in one possession, followed by a jump ball on an inconclusive out-of-bounds play, that teed up a massive go-ahead 3-ball from Thompson with 40 seconds on the clock.
Klay = CLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/A1J6sfZbPW
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 1, 2022
Holding a one-point lead, the Warriors needed to dig in for another stop to try and steal one on the road. On the ensuing possession, Morant got the switch he wanted, putting Curry on an island with a chance to retake the lead.
Curry — who has improved as a defender but isn't known for his work on that side of the ball — dug in deep to stay in front of Morant, coming up with a clutch block to maintain a late lead.
They got the switch they wanted but Curry just made a hell of a play. Just as JVG is say, they needed to go quicker with more urgency. pic.twitter.com/fFxIaUPnBv
— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) May 1, 2022
After Thompson shockingly missed both free throws on the other end, the Warriors needed to stop the electrifying Morant one more time to win Game 1.
This time, Thompson made up for his misses at the charity stripe, taking on Morant at full speed to prevent him from converting a potential game-winning layup.
Needed a stop
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 1, 2022
& Klay and Gary delivered 🔐 pic.twitter.com/ikyJVJHdMs
The All-Star guard wasn't happy about the two missed free throws, but he was able to shake it off with a short memory to come up with a clutch stop.
"I've learned in life you can't go back, and I did miss those free throws. I was very disappointed in myself," Thompson said after the win. "But I quickly forgot about them and realized we have a chance to win this game in four seconds. It sucks, but we won, and that's all that really matters.”
Golden State coach Steve Kerr doubled down on that sentiment. He was proud of Thompson for stepping up in two of the biggest moments of the game.
"Lots of great shooters have missed free throws down the stretch, and you can always make up for it by making a great defensive play, which he did, and he was able to seal the win after that jump ball when the ball clearly went off of them," Kerr said.
The 3-pointer to take the lead and the game-winning stop — it was good to see Thompson back making an impact on the NBA Playoffs stage alongside Curry once again.
And if history is any indication, this victory will lead to a trip to the Western Conference Finals for the Warriors. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Golden State has won 12 straight best-of-seven series after winning Game 1.
The Warriors will look to swipe a second road game against the Grizzlies in Game 2 on Tuesday, May 3 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
