SAN FRANCISCO ― The Golden State Warriors collapsed against the Memphis Grizzlies in the final three minutes Friday night. Memphis closed on a 17-2 run and won 111-108 at the Chase Center.
Coming off a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors looked like a team itching for home cooking. Golden State was welcomed by a sellout crowd in its home opener. The roaring crowd was ecstatic for the return of Warriors basketball, but instead they really got the return of former Warriors guard Ty Jerome, who finished with a game-high 28 points.
The game had a bizarre ending after Grizzlies rookie Cameron Boozer hit the go-ahead field goal with 19.7 seconds left. Warriors guard Stephen Curry answered right back with a fadeaway 3-pointer. However,
it was waved off after an illegal screen was called on Draymond Green.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was furious with the call and was assessed a technical foul as the Grizzlies sealed the deal.
"I thought we had a couple of bad breaks," Kerr said. "We probably had six illegal screens tonight. Those were really tough because the flopping that was happening on every single one. It looked like guys were going down like they'd been hit by a car or something. It's difficult when you're setting a screen and you see that and the refs are calling it over and over."
The Warriors were led by Curry's 24 points. He didn't shoot it particularly well, going 5-of-15 from the field, but he connected on all 11 free throws on Friday night.
"Missed a bunch of shots," Curry said. "Pretty good possessions for the most part, obviously there was a lot of 3s. Ball bounced their way, a couple of tough calls, a couple of tough offensive rebounds. I fouled a 3-point shooter. Breakdown down the stretch to give Ty (Jerome) an open look."
"So, pretty much everything went wrong," he added. "It's a tough pill to swallow 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."
GRIZZLIES 17-0 RUN IN THE 4TH AND STUN WARRIORS AT HOME 😳
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 24, 2026
Cam Boozer and Ty Jerome making an IMPACT in Memphis! pic.twitter.com/r3yMZmVqHJ
Brandin Podziemski started after missing the season opener with a sore back. He scored 18 points against Memphis. There's an underlying expectation that Podziemski will become a player the Warriors can lean on for production, especially after signing a five-year, $110 million contract extension just before the season started.
"I don't think the contract necessarily means anything. I think the contract just states they paid you for what you've done and what you're good at," Podziemski told reporters. "For me I just try to go out there and continue to do those things that I know I'm good at. Obviously there's more opportunity now with the roster structure, with injuries and stuff, but I don't look at it as I need to do more or anything like that. I just do what's asked of me."
The Warriors were down practically the entire first half but played a spirited third quarter where they outscored Memphis 34-24.
"I thought we competed like crazy that second half," Kerr said after the game. "I thought it was really inspiring watching our guys play. But you have to close games in this league and we didn't do it."
The Warriors have a back-to-back. They go on the road to face the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, Oct. 24.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Warriors 0-2 after stunning fourth-quarter collapse against Grizzlies
