SAN FRANCISCO, CA —— Jordan Poole scored 32 points before getting ejected, and the Golden State Warriors outlasted the Memphis Grizzlies 123-109 in an NBA Christmas Day Special on Sunday at Chase Center, here in San Francisco. Ja Morant finished with 36 points in leading the way for Memphis in a matchup that was a repeat of last year’s Western Conference finals. Memphis also got a technical with 8.4 remaining in the 4th with their second delay of game violation.
Poole, who shot 11 of 25 from the field and made three 3-pointers played for just over 29-minutes before he was thrown out of the game for a second technical foul with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter. Golden State had a commanding 106-89 lead over the Grizzlies at the time of his ejection. Read more: Jayson Tatum scores 41pts, Celtics rolled over Bucks 139-118; highlights and stats
Klay Thompson added 24 points with nine rebounds and four assists, while Donte DiVincenzo finished with 19 points and connected on five 3-pointers for the Warriors, who were without several key players, including the injured Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins and led by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Ty Jerome scored 14 points, Anthony Lamb ended with 11 and Draymond Green compiled 13 rebounds and 13 assists for Golden State, who shot 47.3% overall and 40.9% from long range. The Warriors outrebounded Memphis 61-57 and dished out 31 assists on 43 made buckets.
Ja Morant paced Memphis with 36 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in the defeat tonight.
Tyus Jones and Dillon Brooks each scored 13 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 11 and Steven Adams grabbed 14 rebounds in the loss for the Grizzlies, who shot 41.5% from the field and had just 19 assists on 39 made baskets.
The Warriors had a 59-54 lead at halftime, but led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter. Golden State was again with the reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry who misses his fifth straight game because of a shoulder injury. Curry was on the sidelines, though, cheering on his teammates.
The Golden State Warriors sold out its home game for a 445th straight contest.
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INACTIVE PLAYERS
MEM: Vince Williams Jr., Kenneth Lofton Jr., Danny Green
GSW: JaMychal Green, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins, Stephen Curry
