It took three summer league games at the California Classic and another three in Las Vegas, but on Tuesday night the Warriors looked their most complete with a 96-84 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.
As the Grizzlies were led by well-known names like Jaylen Wells, GG Jackson and Cam Spencer, the Warriors won with balance. Coach Lainn Wilson used all 12 of his players, and all 12 had scored by halftime. Veteran Jackson Rowe was the Warriors’ leading scorer of 14 points, followed by 12 from Will Richard and Jaden Shackelford, and 11 for Chris Manon.
This was the closest version to Warriors basketball under Wilson. The Warriors dished 21 assists, outrebounded the bigger Grizzlies and shot 51.9 percent from the field with a 37.9-percent 3-point clip.
“Our pace stayed well, our intensity stayed and kind of increased as the game went on and I thought that made the difference for us,” Wilson said to reporters.
After being blown out by 33 points to open their summer league slate in Las Vegas, the Warriors have responded with two straight quality wins against talented teams.
Wilson was told point guard Taran Armstrong wasn’t playing Tuesday night, putting him without a traditional point guard in the starting lineup. Armstrong’s absence allowed Richard to use some of his different guard skills handling the ball more. Richard continued his strong summer, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2 of 4 from three, plus two rebounds, one assist and two steals.
“Just doing a little bit of everything, showing I can do that,” Richard said. “We have a lot of guys can do that as well. I’m just trying to keep that in my role and just take that opportunity when I’m there.”
Golden State’s starting lineup also didn’t have a typical center. Rowe, listed at 6-foot-7, essentially played a small-ball center. He was flanked next to Warriors top draft pick Alex Toohey in the frontcourt.
That duo took the challenge head-on. Rowe grabbed a team-high six rebounds, along with two blocked shots and two steals. Toohey hauled in four rebounds, also blocked two shots and added a steal.
All four of Toohey’s rebounds – two offensive and two defensive – came in the fourth quarter, when the Warriors outrebounded the Grizzlies 13-5 in the final 10 minutes.
“I was kind of seeing if he and Jackson could carry the frontline for us against a bigger team,” Wilson explained. “I thought both of them did a fantastic job with it. We gave up a few more rebounds than I would have liked us to, but overall I didn’t feel like we really got pushed over as a team, especially with the size differential.”
The Warriors now are 4-2 overall this summer, going 2-1 at the California Classic and 2-1 in Las Vegas. They have one more scheduled game in Vegas on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT against the Toronto Raptors.
Up and down the roster, Wilson is looking to end on a strong note in every little way.
“Really overall, just seeing can we sustain this,” Wilson said. “We’ve been playing some pretty good basketball as a team when our bench is really engaged supporting the guys on the floor, and vice versa. So I’m hoping to see that we continue that same trend, because depending on how this shakes out, different guys may get into the lineup.
“Guys that may not have played as much so far, and hopefully they get rewarded as well with the same level of support.”
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