Justin Ford/Getty Images
The road struggles for the Warriors went from bad to worse Thursday night as the reigning champs fell to their hated rival Memphis Grizzlies, who were without Ja Morant at the FedExForum.
Morant was serving the third game of his indefinite suspension that followed a video of him appearing to show a gun in a nightclub popped up on social media.
The 131-110 loss is the Warriors’ eighth consecutive road loss, tied for the longest such streak since Steve Kerr took over as head coach in 2014.
Memphis got out to an early 21-point lead in what was a 48-point first quarter, and while Golden State made it close at several points of the night—thanks to a 29-point outing from Stephen Curry—it was never enough to completely climb back into the game.
With a Clippers win Wednesday over the Raptors, Golden State will lose hold of the No. 5 seed and creep ever closer to the play-in spots, an unthinkable proposition for the defending champions.
Warriors fans and NBA Twitter let Golden State hear about its rough night.
Kendra Andrews @kendra__andrews
The Warriors allow the Grizzlies to score 48 points in the first quarter — the most Golden State has given up in a quarter this season. They trail by 20.
Their road defense continues to be an issue.
Micah Muhr @MicahMuhr
0-infinity when opponents make 15 https://t.co/Hm2BdcfUDn
Brianna @Brianna71200
Another great Steph Curry game wasted and warriors lose the 5th seed pic.twitter.com/h1qKyGnbES
Mike Lang @mikeymobile
It really is. I don’t recognize this team, especially on defense. We are scrambling every possession on defense.
Reefy 🇮🇳 @Reefy1596
The Warriors forget how to play basketball whenever they’re on the road this season 🙃🙃🙃
Richy🤞🏽💚💙🤍 @RichDolph11
Golden State Warriors defense is probably worse than the Mavs 😂😂😂. 77 points at half given up. Without having Ja Morant
justfax @justfax15
Steph and Klay are gonna have to play 48 minutes per game if Warriors want to win a playoff series. Bench is terrible.#NBAonTNT #Dubnation
♈️ @itslbcmom
This me lol https://t.co/TWT2tSMBPj
Twitter also payed close attention to the interactions between the Warriors and Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks, who has been a key piece in the rivalry.
Draymond Green recently called out Brooks on an episode of his podcast ahead of Thursday’s game, and with Memphis up big most of the night, the former Oregon Duck let the Dubs hear it every second he was on the floor.
And Twitter was loving it.
SportsCenter @SportsCenter
Dray and Dillon Brooks 🍿👀 pic.twitter.com/iDPyhNbSPC
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
“Keep doing his podcast. … It’s cute, it’s fun for him.”
Dillon Brooks on Draymond Green 👀 pic.twitter.com/0foIEnHutn
Parker Fleming @PAKA_FLOCKA
The refs let Dillon Brooks and Draymond Green have that moment, no techs, and the crowd went crazy.
More of that, refs. Just let these dudes ball
omar @ogheezyy
dillon brooks winning a regular season thursday game championship pic.twitter.com/15BCyNvJCQ
Golden State have also now lost three games in a row. What’s even more concerning is that the losses all came with Stephen Curry back on the floor after he recovered from a leg injury that kept him out about a month.
The Warriors need to take advantage of having their superstar back on the floor, because the tests aren’t getting any easier as the season winds down.
Next up for them are the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo coming to San Francisco for what is sure to be another uphill battle.
original source: Steph Curry, Warriors Shamed by Fans for Road Play vs. Ja Morant-Less Grizzlies
