OAKLAND – The Warriors are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1976.
With MVP Stephen Curry leading the way, the Warriors rolled to a 98-78 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 5 Wednesday night at Oracle Arena, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven conference semifinal.
The Warriors can eliminate the Grizzlies with a win Friday night in Memphis.
Klay Thompson led all scorers with 21 points. Curry finished with 18, Andre Iguodala with 16 and Harrison Barnes with 14 as the Warriors posted their second consecutive double-digit win over Memphis.
The Warriors shot 46.7 percent (14 of 30) from 3-point distance and outscored Memphis 31-6 on fast-break points. The Warriors also won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Grizzlies 34-30.
The Grizzlies were limited to 39.8 percent shooting, the second consecutive game below 40 percent.
Center Marc Gasol led Memphis with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Power forward Zach Randolph had 13 points, 11 of which came in the first quarter.
[RELATED: What they're saying: Sights and sounds from Game 5]
STANDOUT PERFORMER:
Make it a team picture, with Curry holding the night's trophy, flanked by Thompson and Green.
In addition to his scoring, Curry also finished with five assists, seven rebounds and six steals. He became the first player in NBA history to make six treys and get six steals in a postseason game.
Thompson made 3-of-4 from deep and his 9-point fourth quarter pretty much extinguished any hope of the Grizzlies getting back into the game.
Green tap-danced all over the stat sheet: 7 points, nine assists (a team-high) and five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Andrew Bogut also was a force, grabbing nine rebounds (a team-high) and blocking four shots.
TURNING POINT:
After the Grizzlies, behind Randolph, took a 23-10 lead with 3:26 left in the first quarter, the Warriors stormed back by closing the quarter on a 16-2 run for a 26-25 lead at the break.
The Warriors never trailed again.
When Memphis closed it to 36-35 with 7:16 left in the second quarter, the Warriors staged a 13-2 rally to push the lead to 49-37 with 2:01 left before halftime.
The Grizzlies never got closer than eight after that.
INJURY UPDATE:
Warriors: F Marreese Speights (strained right calf) and C Ognjen Kuzmic (sprained left ankle) were listed as out and did not play.
Grizzlies: F Tony Allen (sore left hamstring) was listed as questionable and did not play.
WHAT'S NEXT:
Game 6 is scheduled for Friday night at FedEx Forum in Memphis, tipoff at 6:30 Pacific.
