Warriors take 13-1 road record to Memphis (Dec 10, 2016)
The new Kevin Durant road show plays Memphis for the first time this season Saturday night when the Golden State Warriors face the Memphis Grizzlies.
Both teams will take impressive winning streaks into a rematch of the 2015 Western Conference semifinals, which was won 4-2 by the Warriors en route to the championship.
The Warriors have fashioned a 13-1 road record since adding Durant via free agency over the summer.
They began a rough seven-day, five-day trip with wins over the Los Angeles Clippers (115-98) and Utah Jazz (106-99) on Wednesday and Thursday, giving them four wins in a row overall and eight in succession on the road since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers more than a month ago (Nov. 4).
Not surprisingly, the Warriors lead the NBA in several offensive categories in road games, including points per game (115.2), field goal percentage (48.5) and assists (30.8).
Durant has helped lead the way, averaging 24.8 points on 53.4-percent shooting on the road.
Alas, Durant's history in Memphis as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder wasn't nearly as successful. He was held under 20 points in two of his most recent five visits, with the Thunder losing three of those five games.
The Grizzlies will take a five-game winning streak into Saturday's game. All five of the wins have come by five or fewer points -- the first time a team has fashioned that kind of streak since the 2009-10 season.
And Memphis has done it without Mike Conley (back), Chandler Parsons (knee) and Vince Carter (hip), all of whom have been out with injuries.
Marc Gasol led the way for the Grizzlies in their winning streak, scoring more than 25 points in four of the five games while shooting 50 for 98 overall and 10 for 20 on 3-pointers.
Memphis has won nine of its 13 home games this season, allowing only 97.9 points per game on 43.1-percent shooting.
The Warriors have triumphed in their last three visits to Memphis despite never having scored more than 107 points. They did so by holding the Grizzlies to 84 points twice and 99 the other time.
The clubs played a 100-99 nail-biter in the Warriors' last visit in April. That's exactly the type of game the Grizzlies would like Saturday.
After all, they've already won a whopping 10 games by five or fewer points this season.
In fact, they've prevailed in their last 12 contests that either went to overtime or were decided by five or fewer points.
"I wish I could tell you," Gasol admitted to reporters Thursday night when asked if he could explain the impressive run in close games. "We just keep fighting. You've seen it many games now where we just don't let go of the rope."
Several opponents have let go of the rope early against the Warriors, whose eight-game road winning streak includes five wins by 16 or more points, and just one in a game decided by five or fewer.
Golden State has begun beating teams so regularly on the road, the hometown fans haven't enjoyed their recent visits.
"My first year was kind of a surprise and everybody seemed to love us," Warriors coach Steve Kerr, discussing his team's reception on the road, told reporters Thursday in Utah. "Now maybe it's changed a little bit. It honestly makes no difference to us."
