Boozer's Fourth-Quarter Dagger Lifts Memphis Past Golden State, 111-108
Cameron Boozer's 9-foot turnaround jump shot with 20.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter swung the home win probability from 45% to 28%, effectively sealing a 111-108 Memphis road win. Boozer finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists — and the biggest shot of the night.
Memphis jumped out fast, with Ty Jerome and Boozer combining to push the Grizzlies to a 19-11 lead midway through the first quarter. Jerome's floaters were a persistent problem for Golden State early, and Jaylen Wells' 25-foot three at the 8:54 mark stretched the gap before Golden State found its footing. The Warriors clawed back with a 10-0 run — Gary Payton II hit a three and then a driving layup off two Stephen Curry assists, flipping the score to 21-19 in Golden State's favor. What followed was a wild first-quarter finish: Brandin Podziemski hit a 27-foot step-back three to give Golden State a 32-31 lead with 31 seconds left, Quinten Post answered with a reverse layup at 5.4 seconds to put Memphis back up 33-32, and then Podziemski — somehow — hit a 10-foot two at the buzzer to send Golden State into the second quarter leading 34-33. That sequence alone looked like a game unto itself.
The second quarter opened with Memphis reasserting control. Boozer drained a 25-foot three, Jerome added a running pullup, and Wells tipped in a basket to push the lead to 44-39 by the 7:45 mark. The story of the night was appearing to be Memphis's ability to answer every Golden State run before it gained real traction. Curry finished with 24 points and Yaxel Lendeborg posted 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists for the Warriors — a double-double performance that kept Golden State competitive throughout — but it wasn't enough to close the gap when it mattered most.
The fourth quarter is where Memphis put the game away for good. With Golden State holding a 45% win probability and a real chance to steal this one, Boozer stepped into a 9-foot turnaround jumper that swung those odds to 28% in an instant — a 17-point probability shift on a single possession. Jerome led all scorers with 28 points on the night, adding 5 assists and a steal, and looks like the engine that makes this Memphis offense hum. Podziemski's 18 points and 3 steals were a bright spot for Golden State, and his first-quarter heroics gave the Warriors every opportunity to win this game. They just couldn't sustain it. Memphis wins 111-108.