SAN FRANCISCO -- In his second career NBA game, No. 2 pick Cameron Boozer capped a 17-0 run and a stunning 111-108 comeback win for the young Memphis Grizzlies with a nine-foot floater in the closing seconds Friday night against the Golden State Warriors.
Three minutes earlier, the Warriors were in control. Veteran wing De'Anthony Melton made a corner 3 with 3:47 left to put them up by 12, appearing to seal an uplifting home win two nights after an embarrassing road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers to open their regular season.
"Eight different things had to happen," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said of the late collapse. "If any one of those eight doesn't happen, I think we win. It was just an avalanche."
Stephen Curry made the initial mistake. The 18-year franchise legend was overzealous on a closeout in the corner and fouled Memphis guard Jaylen Wells on a made 3, giving the Grizzlies four quick points to resuscitate hope.
Curry, Draymond Green, Yaxel Lendeborg and Brandin Podziemski then combined to miss four consecutive shots over the next 80 seconds, any of which might've slammed the door on the Grizzlies.
"Pretty much everything went wrong," Curry said.
That's when Boozer took control. He powered through fellow rookie Lendeborg and Melton on back-to-back possessions, earning and hitting four free throws.
Ty Jerome, the NBA's current leading scorer with 73 points through two games, drilled a corner 3 after a loose-ball scramble with 1:24 left to pull the Grizzlies within one. Wells hit a free throw with 54.7 seconds left to tie it.
That set the stage for Boozer, who finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
After a Curry miss with 35 seconds left, Boozer was being defended by the significantly smaller Podziemski and attacked with a controlled drive and spin into the floater range. Boozer turned and swished a nine-footer to give the Grizzlies the 108-106 lead.
The Warriors never had a legitimate opportunity to tie it. On the ensuing possession, Green was called for setting an illegal screen near half court. Kerr was so upset with the call that he yelled at the officials and received a technical.
"We probably had six illegal screens tonight," Kerr said. "The flopping that was happening on every single one, it looked like guys were going down like they had been hit by a car."
The Grizzlies made three free throws, including the technical on Kerr, completing a 17-0 run to flip the game in the final four minutes.
That was the second-longest fourth-quarter run by an opponent in the Kerr era, according to ESPN Research. The Houston Rockets had a 21-0 run in a fourth quarter against the Warriors in 2018.
"There are losses," Curry said, shaking his head. "Then there are losses like tonight that sting a little bit more."
Friday's loss was particularly painful for a depleted Warriors team attempting to tread water long enough in the first two months to get Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, their injured starting wings, back in the lineup.
"We didn't close the game," Kerr said. "It didn't happen. It's a long season. We will win our share of those games as well."
The Warriors travel to Phoenix for a back-to-back set Saturday night and are expected to be without the resting Curry, who said he "probably" won't play, and Podziemski, who said he will miss the game while managing back soreness.
