Warriors beat Grizzlies 116-103 without Steph Curry

No Steph, no problem.

The Golden State Warriors were tasked with playing a road game Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies group, without the face of their franchise, Steph Curry. And, for that matter, without two of their leading bankers, James Wiseman and Eric Paschall.

They were up to the task. And then some.

The final score was ultimately not an indication of the game – the Dubs won by just 13, and won until a 116-103 finish. It was nowhere near as close as Golden State spent most of the night with 20 or more points or knocking on the door. They had a 19-point halftime lead, boosted it to 25 in the third quarter and never seemed in danger of throwing it away.

So how did the abbreviated Warriors do the job so emphatically?

It started with star-studded play from two wings that, if played regularly like this, could catapult the team to a new level.

Andrew Wiggins had his best performance since donning a Dubs jersey, and he harnessed a season-high 40 points on 14-for-24 shooting, including 6-for-11 from deep. He was the option to score the team all night and also contributed 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals without making a mistake.

And then there was Jordan Poole. Poole continued his rift after the G-League, with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, including 3-for-6 from distance. His play work was on display, even though he only finished with 2 assistants, and he did not turn the ball over once.

These were the catalysts, but they were by no means the only stories. Damion Lee and Kevon Looney scored season highs in the points division, with 21 and 11 respectively, and Draymond Green had a stat line that was almost satirical, it was like Draymondian: 2 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, +24.

The ball moved, even without Curry’s gravity, as the team scored 31 assists to just 13 times. The defense was dynamic, forcing 20 turnovers, allowing just 11 quick points, and Memphis holding just 72 points through three quarters.

But perhaps the most inspiring thing is that nothing the Warriors did felt unsustainable. Sure, you can not count on 65 points from Wiggins and Poole every night, but normally if a team performs better, it’s because they did something unrepeatable, like shooting 60% from three points, or around their opponent hilarious to surpass. The Warriors did not do that. They shot just 36.6% from deep. They were cross-border, and conceded more free throws than they fired.

They just played a solid attack and a more solid defense and spent the best part of 48 minutes making the right decisions. They were simply the better basketball team, and it was not supported by anything fleeting.

That bodes well for Saturday’s game against, you guessed it … the Grizzlies.

I’ve never been so lucky to look (mostly) bad.

Strange things are indeed happening in the NBA. Sometimes they are nice too.