MEMPHIS, Tennessee: Stephen Curry had a game like none other in his career. It was part of an awful night for the Golden State Warriors.
Curry didn’t make a shot from the field in his 24 minutes — the first time he’s played that many minutes without a basket in his 16-year career — and the Warriors fell behind by 57 points in what became a 144-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.
“We ran into a buzz saw,” Curry said. “We obviously know we are better than that. I’ve got to be better than that.”
The 51-point final margin and 57-point deficit were both the largest in the NBA this season.
“You lose by 51, that’s humbling,” coach Steve Kerr said after his team, which started the season 12-3, lost for the ninth time in its last 11 games.
Curry was 0 for 7, missing all six of his tries from 3-point range. It was only the fifth time in Curry’s career that he’d taken a shot in a game and not registered a field goal — he was 0 for 1 once, 0 for 2 once, 0 for 3 once and 0 for 4 once.
“He’s one of the toughest covers in the history of the NBA,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
Not on Thursday, however.
“That was embarrassing,” Curry said.
It was only the fifth time in Warriors history that they lost a regular-season game by more than 50 points. Of those, three have come in the last five years — by 53 to Toronto at Tampa, Florida in 2021, by 52 at Boston on March 3 and Thursday’s 51-point loss.
The franchise regular-season record is a 63-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. The Philadelphia Warriors lost by 51 at Boston in 1962.
“It wasn’t any of our nights,” Kerr said. “Including mine.”
Curry and Draymond Green had never combined for zero field goals in a game in which both played, until Thursday.
“There’s a first time for everything, right?” Curry said.
Brandin Podziemski and Andrew Wiggins combined to make 15 of their 24 shots for Golden State. The rest of the Warriors shot 17 of 66 — 25.8 percent — with Dennis Schroder going 2 for 12 in his Golden State debut. Jonathan Kuminga also shot 2 of 12.
The Warriors have now trailed at least one game by 45 points in each of the last six seasons.
“Once we’re all locked in defensively, you see what type of team we can be,” Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said.
The Grizzlies now have the two biggest victory margins in the NBA this season. They beat Portland by 45 on Nov. 10.
Memphis also led Golden State by 55 in Game 5 of the 2022 Western Conference semifinals, ultimately winning that game by 39 points. The Warriors went on to win that series in six games and eventually won that season’s NBA title.
“I know who we are. I know what our team is about,” Kerr said. “I know we’ve got competitors, and I know we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to regroup. So, I’m not concerned about that. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to execute and learn how to execute under pressure and take care of the ball and get good shots.”
An ‘embarrassing’ night for Stephen Curry and the Warriors, who fall by 51 at Memphis
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An ‘embarrassing’ night for Stephen Curry and the Warriors, who fall by 51 at Memphis
- Stephen Curry did not make a shot from the field in his 24 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies
- It was the first time he has played that many minutes without a basket in his 16-year career
Gordon scores four as Newcastle hit Qarabag for six
- Gordon stole the show by netting four times before half-time
- England forward Gordon has netted 14 times this season, including 10 in the Champions League
BAKU: Anthony Gordon starred with a brilliant four-goal haul as Newcastle crushed Qarabag 6-1 in the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie on Wednesday.
Gordon stole the show by netting four times before half-time at the Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium.
Malick Thiaw was also on target for Newcastle before the interval and Jacob Murphy netted after the break to complete the demolition.
Elvin Jafarguliyev’s second-half reply was little consolation for Azerbaijani underdogs Qarabag, who paid the price for wretched defending in a miserable performance.
England forward Gordon has netted 14 times this season, including 10 in the Champions League, taking him past Alan Shearer as Newcastle’s highest scorer in a single campaign in Europe’s elite club competition.
Gordon’s memorable night on the shores of the Caspian Sea ensured the second leg at St. James’ Park on February 24 should be a mere formality.
Barring a miracle comeback from Qarabag, Eddie Howe’s side will face Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16.
Having ended Newcastle’s 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by winning the League Cup last season, Howe set his sights on more history this week, admitting it would “mean everything” to steer them into the Champions League last 16 for the first time.
Howe’s cherished target is now within touching distance.
Booed off less than two weeks ago after a defeat against Brentford, Newcastle made the 2,529-mile trip to Baku revitalized by successive away victories against Tottenham in the Premier League and Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
It was the longest journey any English team had ever made for a Champions League knockout game, but there was no sign of fatigue as Newcastle ripped Qarabag to shreds.
Gordon started as Newcastle’s central striker as Howe again deployed misfiring German forward Nick Woltemade in a deeper role.
- Gordon runs riot -
Howe’s decision to make Gordon the focal point of his attack paid off after just three minutes.
Dan Burn advanced from defense and played a perfect pass toward Gordon, who timed his run to beat the Qarabag offside trap before planting a clinical finish into the far corner from 12 yards.
Qarabag beat Benfica, Copenhagen and Eintracht Frankfurt and drew with Chelsea in the group stage.
Yet it was their 6-0 thrashing at Liverpool in the last game of the phase that proved more relevant as Newcastle doubled their advantage in the eighth minute.
Kieran Trippier’s pin-point cross picked out Thiaw and he guided a composed header past Mateusz Kochalski from close range.
Newcastle were carving open the creaky Qarabag defense at will and their barrage brought a third goal in the 32nd minute.
Matheus Silva blocked Harvey Barnes’ shot with his arm as he slid along the turf and Gordon stroked in the resulting penalty.
Gordon bagged his third goal in predatory style just 60 seconds later, seizing on Kevin Medina’s slip and rounding Kochalski to slot into the empty net.
It was Gordon’s first professional hat-trick, making him only the third Newcastle player to score a Champions League treble after Shearer and Faustino Asprilla.
Gordon’s 33-minute haul was also the fastest Champions League hat-trick by an English player.
The 24-year-old wasn’t finished yet and his break into the area ended with Kochalski fouling him, conceding a penalty that Gordon converted with ease.
Jafarguliyev got one back in the 54th minute with a low drive that was initially disallowed for offside before VAR allowed the goal to stand.
Murphy notched his first goal in the Champions League in the 72nd minute, whipping a deflected strike past Kochalski to put the seal on Newcastle’s perfect evening.
