Curry wins NBA scoring title as Warriors tame Grizzlies for 8th seed in West

May 17 ------ Stephen Curry scored a game-high 46 points en route to his second NBA scoring title as the Golden State Warriors held off the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, 113-101, on Sunday, May 16 (Monday, May 17, Manila time) to claim the No. 8 position in the play-in tournament.

By virtue of their sixth straight win on a regular-season-ending homestand, the Warriors (39-33) put themselves in a position of having to be beaten twice in order to be denied a spot in the eight-team Western Conference playoff draw. As the 8th seed, Golden State will tip off the play-in tournament on the road on Wednesday, visiting either the Portland Trail Blazers or the Los Angeles Lakers, both of whom have one remaining regular season games. The loss ended Memphis' five-game winning streak and landed the Grizzlies (38-34) in the No. 9 spot in the play-in, where they will host 10th seed San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. The winner of the 7-8 matchup will earn the 7th position in the Western playoffs, while the loser of the 9-10 game will be eliminated. The loser of the 7-8 matchup will play the winner of the 9-10 survival test on Friday for the 8th and final playoff spot.

With Curry scoring 17 of his 46 points, the Warriors appeared to take command of the game in the 3rd quarter, building an 86-69 lead by the end of the period. But Dillon Brooks led a Memphis comeback. Before fouling out, Brooks contributed 13 points to a 22-5 flurry that produced a 91-all with 6:32 minutes to play. The Grizzlies went up by 2 points twice after that, the last time at 97-95 with 4:49 to go, before Jordan Poole nailed his momentum-changing three-pointer 21 seconds later. No longer hounded by Brooks, Curry then led a late Warriors runaway when he completed his big game with three consecutive three-pointers, giving him nine triples for the game and a league-best 337 for the season.

Curry finished the season with a 31.8-point scoring average, claiming the league scoring title over Bradley Beal, who returned from a three-game absence to score 25 points earlier Sunday and finish with 31.4 points. Andrew Wiggins supported Curry with a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Draymond Green just missed a triple-double with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and a game-high-tying 9 assists. Poole added 15 points and Kevon Looney had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who outshot the Grizzlies 49.4% to 43.5% overall and outscored them 45-18 on three-pointers.

Source: rappler.com