National Basketball Association

Stephen Curry shows MVP colors in Warriors' Game 4 win

Published May. 12, 2015 11:10 a.m. ET

foxsports

By Vincent Frank

With their backs against the wall and facing the real possibility of losing three consecutive games for the first time all season, the Golden State Warriors pushed through a ton of obstacles to even up their playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

Steve Kerr’s squad turned the ball over 21 times. They were out-rebounded and put up less assists than the home-standing Grizzlies. They were facing a brutal Memphis defense in the Grindhouse.

All this should have led to a 3-1 series deficit heading back to Oakland for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Instead, the Warriors dominated tempo and got back to their old ways in a 101-84 win over the Grizzlies.

Unable to change its offensive scheme to take into account a philosophical switch on defense by Golden State, the Grizzlies struggled putting the ball in the hoop. Seeing double-teams throughout the night, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for just 31 points on 12-of-29 shooting. Mike Conley shot just 4-of-15 from the field, while Tony Allen played a total of just 16 minutes. Talk about getting away from your team’s identity.

Overall, the Grizzlies shot just 38 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.

This series now heads back to Oakland for Game 5. And while Memphis did win Game 2 on the road, the Warriors have lost a total of three games at home all year, postseason included.

The math is simple here. If Golden State wins its two remaining games at home, it will advance to the Western Conference Finals. In order for Memphis to pull off the upset, it will have to steal another one in California. That’s how big the Warriors Game 4 victory was.

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