SAN FRANCISCO — Brandin Podziemski transformed a contested layup, the Grizzlies called timeout and the Warriors’ fifth-year guard amped up the crowd as he retreated to his bench.
Podziemski put Golden State up 11 with 5:19 to play, and De’Anthony Melton drained a 3 96 seconds later to prolong the lead to a dozen with less than 4 minutes left.
Then, in the phrases of Steph Curry, “pretty much everything went wrong.”
Curry and the relaxation of the Warriors were still processing their epic fourth-quarter collapse Friday night time as they boarded the bus to take them to the airport. Golden State missed its closing 9 makes an attempt from the subject, permitting the Grizzlies to mount a 17-0 run and treating their followers to a 111-108 loss in their house opener.
Stephen Curry stands on the facet of the court docket during the closing moments of the Warriors’ 111-108 loss to the Grizzlies at Chase Center on Oct. 23, 2026 in San Francisco. Getty Images
Less than 24 hours later, the Warriors will have to do it all again in Phoenix, still in search of their first win.
And will doubtless have to do so with out Curry, who said he will “probably not” swimsuit up against the Suns in the second half of the first back-to-back of the season as the Warriors strive to handle his workload.
That only made the win slipping out of their palms sting all the more.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Curry said, “considering we played really solid, especially in that second half, to give ourselves a lead and be in control of the game for as long as we did.”
Golden State fell behind by as many as 13 factors in the first half as the Warriors struggled to manufacture offense with out Curry or to include Grizzlies rookie Cameron Boozer, who outclassed fellow first-rounder Yaxel Lendeborg in their first NBA matchup.
The last of Boozer’s 25 factors came on a turnaround over Brandin Podziemski with 20 seconds to play that gave the Grizzlies their first lead since late in the third quarter, 108-106. Draymond Green was called for his third unlawful display screen of the recreation, and Ty Jerome was ready to drive uncontested for a layup to end off his 28-point night time — as effectively as the Warriors’ collapse.
After their 128-105 loss to the Lakers on opening night time, Golden State is 0-2 for the first time since 2020-21. That’s two video games with a wholesome Curry they won’t get back.
“There’s losses, and there’s ways that you lose like tonight that sting a little bit more,” Curry said. “Everybody says there’s another game tomorrow. But the idea of how important every game is for us … and the fact that we gave one away like this, you might lose a little sleep over it.”
Stephen Curry is fouled by Scotty Pippen Jr. during the second half of the Warriors’ loss to the Grizzlies. Getty Images
A few possessions earlier, Podziemski and Melton collided while going after a free ball that Podziemski had poked free. It ended up in the palms of a Memphis participant.
It was, as coach Steve Kerr said, one of “like eight different things [that] had to happen.”
“I think if any one of those eight doesn’t happen, we win the game. It was just an avalanche.”
Kerr was given a technical for arguing Green’s unlawful display screen on Jerome that gave up the ball on the Warriors’ closing possession. Kerr said it was a “shocking” call by the referees.
Ty Jerome celebrates in the closing moments of Grizzlies’ comeback win over the Warriors. Getty Images
“We probably had six illegal screens tonight, and those were really tough because the flopping that was happening on every single one,” Kerr said. “[It] appeared like guys were going down like they’ve been hit by a automotive or something. …
“All those illegal screens really hurt us.”
Kerr, however, took a more measured stance than Curry.
“There’s 80 [more] games. We’ve lost a couple. We’ll bounce back,” he said. “You don’t think, ‘Does this sting more than any other game?’ You just move on.”
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