The Memphis Grizzlies erased a 12-point deficit over the final 3:47 to beat the Golden State Warriors 111-108 on Friday night, Oct. 23, scoring 17 straight points down the stretch. After De’Anthony Melton’s 3-pointer with 3:47 left put the Warriors ahead 106-94, Golden State missed its last nine field-goal attempts and did not score again until Yaxel Lendeborg’s two free throws with half a second remaining.
The Warriors are 0-2 after their 127-105 loss to the Lakers on opening night.
Curry fouled Memphis guard Jaylen Wells on a made 3, giving the Grizzlies four quick points. Then Cameron Boozer, the No. 3 pick in the 2026 draft, powered through fellow rookie Lendeborg and Melton on back-to-back possessions, earning and hitting four free throws. Ty Jerome drilled a corner 3 after a loose-ball scramble with 1:24 left to pull the Grizzlies within one, and Wells hit a free throw with 54.7 seconds left to tie it.
Boozer hit the go-ahead turnaround jumper with 20.1 seconds left. Draymond Green was then called for an illegal screen, Kerr drew a technical foul for arguing the call, and Jerome’s technical free throw and layup pushed Memphis to 111-106. Lendeborg’s two free throws with half a second on the clock set the final margin.
Boozer finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists on 6-of-13 shooting, going 9-of-9 at the line, while Jerome, a former Warrior, scored a game-high 28. Stephen Curry led Golden State with 24 points, and Lendeborg added 18 points and 13 rebounds but had six turnovers.
Kerr said after the game that the collapse took a chain of events. “Eight different things had to happen,” he said. “If any one of those eight doesn’t happen, I think we win. It was just an avalanche.” Lendeborg put the blame on himself: “I think I definitely threw the game away myself, because of all those turnovers.”
Golden State Is Losing the Games Curry Plays
The Warriors are without Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody and Kristaps Porziņģis, and Kerr said before the season that Golden State would manage the workloads of Curry and other veterans and that some would sit on back-to-backs. That plan works only if they win the nights Curry is available, and they have now lost both.
The Warriors started two-way center Graham Ike, giving the team two rookie starters in a home opener for the first time since the NBA began recording starters in 1970-71, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. A roster this short on veterans has to put rookies on the floor late in close games, and in this one Memphis went at the rookie on its comeback possessions.
Short-Handed Warriors Visit Phoenix Saturday
The Warriors play at Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 24, the second night of a back-to-back. “Probably not, but I’ll talk to the staff,” Curry said when asked whether he would play, and Brandin Podziemski, who missed their season opener after tweaking his back, said he will sit out too.
The thing to watch is who runs the backcourt: Melton and Gary Payton II are expected to take on more minutes if Curry and Podziemski sit.
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