A pre-game scandal involving Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has turned into an exciting fashion as the Memphis Grizzlies have won five games in a single route to extend their Western Conference semifinal series.
A win is needed to survive the game, with Memphis leading by about 52 points on the way to the 134-95 Bluetooth.
With Warriors leading 3-1 in the best-seven series five games ago, Curry told ESPN reporter Kendra Andrews in a pre-game chat that his team’s plan was “hoop that trick”. Terrence Howard’s 2005 song has become Grizzlies’ unofficial theme song this season.
Read more: NBA in the epic performance of Bloody Giannis
Read more: NBA legend Ben Simmons holds firm in theory
Read more: The basketball world mourns the death of the NBA icon
As a result, a laser-centric Grizzlies team, which set up one of the most brutal play-off beatdowns of Curry’s career, is still without injured All-Star guard Ja Morant.
The Grizzlies held a 46-point lead in the fourth quarter, having some fun with DJ Curry’s sarcasm inside the Memphis’ FedEx forum, blasting the song through speakers, dancing to a ridiculous curry and teammate Drymond Green Grizzlies during a timed team and home.
“They will not ‘hoop that trick’ alone, we will ‘hoop that trick’ together if we do ‘hoop that trick’,” Green said of his exchange with the crowd.
“One thing I don’t respect is the people who just bring it up and hug the crowd when they win, we call them front-runners.
“We kicked our asses. It’s okay, it happens, but you don’t have to be a front runner. When you get it out you have to be willing to take it and not hide from it, not duck from it, hug it.
“I applaud the crowd tonight and the energy they brought to the game. If they want to ‘hoop that trick’, we’re going to raise it together.”
Despite Green’s positivity, the NBA has made fun of World Curry, who finished with just 14 points from four field goals on social media.
Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Ben and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points on the Memphis route, with Ban showing spray after battling back injuries throughout the entire series.
Grizzlies never backed down, making it their best performance of the series, pulling them to 3-2, even as Morant sat out his second consecutive game due to a bone injury to his right knee. They improved to 4-11 as they faced elimination.
Memphis scored 77 points in the first half, the highest in franchise post-season history. The Grizzlies pushed their lead to 55 in the third quarter, threatening three major post-season blueouts in NBA history. Their 52-point lead after tying three quarters in play-off games over the last 70 years.
Clay Thompson led Golden State with 19 points. The Warriors will look to end the series at home on Saturday AEST in San Francisco.
To get a daily dose of the best breaking news and exclusive content from the Wide World of Sports, click here to subscribe to our newsletter!
