SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -
Stephen Curry has converted eight free throws over the final 45.7 seconds on the way to 32 points, igniting the Warriors down the stretch on the way to a 101-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night and a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Curry also dished out eight assists as Golden State rallied to win without Kerr after he tested positive for COVID-19 less than two hours before tipoff.
But Brown has done this previously. He led the Warriors to an 11-0 record during the 2017 title run when Kerr was out dealing with debilitating symptoms from complications of back surgery two years earlier.
Curry took charge and now his Warriors are one win from a trip to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2019. He tied it at 90 on a fall-away baseline jumper with 3:25 to go and his two free throws with 45.7 seconds to go gave the Warriors a 94-93 lead, their first of the night.
Golden State scored 39 points in the fourth, topping its 38 the entire first half.
Tyus Jones had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists as Memphis missed injured All-Star Ja Morant. Dillon Brooks returned from a one-game suspension and struggled mightily, missing a 3-point try with 53 seconds left and finishing 5 for 19 with 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Thompson scored 14 points despite missing all seven of his 3-point attempts for the cold-shooting Warriors, who didn’t have to contend with do-everything Morant this time. The Grizzlies guard missed the game with soreness in his right knee after Jordan Poole grabbed him while going for a loose ball late in Game 3 — leading Morant and Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins to question Poole’s intentions.
It remained unclear whether Morant would be back for Game 5 on Wednesday in Memphis.
Brooks sat out Game 3 as a penalty by the league for his Flagrant 2 foul that injured Gary Payton II in Game 2, when Brooks hit the Golden State guard over the head on a driving layup attempt and Payton fell hard and broke his left elbow. Kerr called it a “dirty” play and said Brooks had broken an NBA code of conduct.