Getty Desmond Bane of the Memphis Grizzlies and Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors picked up a big-time win over the Memphis Grizzlies on January 25. Heading into the game, they had lost six of their last nine games, and a win over the Grizzlies brought them back to 24-24 on the season, which puts them in eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
Golden State and Memphis have developed quite the rivalry, and in this rendition, the Warriors earned a victory thanks to a last-second layup by Jordan Poole over Ziaire Williams. After the game, however, Desmond Bane did his best to pick his teammate up in the locker room.
“Aye Z, we kicking it tonight, bruh,” Bane told Williams via Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal. “Pick your head up.”
Most of the Grizzlies defense was focused on keeping the ball out of Klay Thompson’s hands, but it was Poole who slipped to the basket and made the important play for Golden State. He slipped past Williams and was able to nail what would end up being the game-winning layup.
Poole played well in the game against Memphis and stepped up big when it mattered most. He ended the night with 21 points, five rebounds, and seven assists on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting from behind the three-point line.
As for Bane, he played well, too. The Grizzlies star finished with 20 points, three rebounds, and four assists on 7-of-17 shooting from the floor and 2-of-7 shooting from distance. Meanwhile, Williams put up just two points and two rebounds on 1-of-7 shooting from the field and 0-of-6 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Jordan Poole Mocks Stephen Curry After Ejection
The Warriors were forced to scramble late in the game against the Grizzlies, as Stephen Curry got himself ejected. He was angry as the shot selection of Poole, as the young Warriors guard chucked up a three with just over a minute left to go in the game.
After Poole’s shot attempt, Curry was visibly frustrated. He walked down to the other end of the court and chucked his mouthguard into the first row of the stands. The officials immediately threw him out of the game.
However, after Poole managed to nail the game-winner with just seconds left on the clock, emotions were back on track. Poole met Curry in the back hallways of the arena, where he was waiting for him. The youngster mocked Curry, throwing his own mouthpiece to the side, taking a jab at the superstar by imitating his own actions.
Stephen Curry Explains Frustrations With Jordan Poole
As for why Curry was mad at Poole in the first place, he explained his frustrations after the game. During his post-game press conference, Curry said that he reacted the way he did because of how intense the game was.
“Yeah, it was a crucial time in the game and the way our season has gone, as you know, there’s questions about the heightened sense of urgency and about how every detail matters,” Curry said via NBC Sports Bay Area. “You want something really bad, like just getting a win. With fourth quarter execution, clutch time type of situations, all that stuff does matter. So I reacted in a way that, obviously, put myself out of the game and put the team in a tough place. But, the intentions and the energy around what matters in the sense of winning, that’s what it’s about. Thankfully my teammates responded extremely well, Klay with a big shot, JP with the game-winner at the end. Execution was great. We needed that one, there was a lot of sense of urgency for sure, and I kind of let my emotions get in the way of it.”