Vince Carter's outstanding play continued all the way to the end of the first quarter.
At both ends of the floor, Carter brought out every trick he had learned in his life. Granted, he could no longer engage Thompson in a scoring duel like he once had, nor could he casually drop 50 in a single game before cockily telling his opponent, "To me, the basket is as wide as Lake Ontario."
But at the very least, he helped the Grizzlies preserve their seven-point lead through the end of the first quarter.
Carter's excellent performance fired up every Grizzlies player. Dellavedova, Iguodala, Gasol, and the other players off the bench were all the type willing to fight with everything they had. After Carter gave them such a boost, they became even more ferocious.
The Warriors' push over the final three minutes of the first quarter had been anything but weak, yet thanks to the Grizzlies players' superb performance, Golden State could not even cut the deficit by a single point!
30–23. The Memphis Grizzlies gave the Oracle Arena crowd no further reason to cheer.
The facts proved that the Grizzlies' Death Five was no worse than the Warriors' Death Five. Golden State's seven-man mini rotation did not hold any greater advantage over Memphis's consistently deep rotation, either.
Once again, the Golden State Warriors had been suppressed. Watching Kerr nervously draw up plays, Mike Breen could not help but shake his head. "This may be the toughest seven-point deficit the Golden State Warriors have had to chase all season."
After the second quarter began, Curry and Thompson, having adjusted to the Grizzlies' suffocating defense, began to improve their shooting percentages. But even so, the Warriors still could not gain any ground on Memphis.
Link's scoring power left the Warriors at a