The Memphis Grizzlies opened their road trip with a statement, grinding out a 111-108 win over the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on October 24, 2026. In a game that swung repeatedly across four quarters, Memphis leaned on defensive pressure and second-chance points to hand Golden State a home loss in front of a sellout Bay Area crowd.
Match Overview
The Warriors came out firing from beyond the arc, using quick ball movement to build an early cushion, but the Grizzlies answered with a physical, paint-oriented approach that slowly wore down Golden State's interior defense. Memphis controlled the glass and forced a string of live-ball turnovers in the third quarter, flipping a seven-point deficit into a lead they would never fully surrender.
The final margin of three points undersells how tense the closing minutes were. The game featured 14 lead changes and was tied six times, with neither team able to pull away by more than nine points at any stage.
Key Moments
- Second-quarter surge: Memphis closed the first half on a 13-4 run, cutting Golden State's largest lead of the night down to a single possession at the break.
- Third-quarter defensive clamp: The Grizzlies held the Warriors to under 40 percent shooting in the period, turning stops into transition buckets.
- Closing possessions: With the game tied inside the final minute, Memphis executed a pick-and-roll that produced a go-ahead basket, then sealed it with a contested defensive rebound and a pair of free throws.
Tactical Story
Golden State's offense ran through its usual motion concepts, hunting off-ball screens and dribble hand-offs to generate open threes. It worked in spurts — the Warriors knocked down a healthy volume of attempts from deep — but Memphis adjusted by switching more aggressively on the perimeter and daring Golden State's bigs to beat them from the mid-range.
On the other end, the Grizzlies attacked the rim relentlessly. Their guards repeatedly collapsed the defense before kicking out to corner shooters, and their offensive rebounding kept possessions alive at critical moments. The Warriors' smaller lineups, effective as they were offensively, were out-muscled on the boards down the stretch.
Standout Performers
Memphis got a balanced scoring effort, with multiple players finishing in double figures and the backcourt dictating tempo throughout. The Grizzlies' interior presence anchored the defense, altering shots at the rim and cleaning up the defensive glass when it mattered most.
For Golden State, the star guard carried much of the offensive load, creating off the dribble and drawing extra defenders, while the forward rotation chipped in with timely cuts and corner threes. The Warriors' bench provided a spark in the first half but went quiet in the fourth quarter.
What It Means
The result gives Memphis an encouraging early-season road win against a Western Conference contender, reinforcing their identity as a defensive-minded team capable of winning ugly. For the Warriors, the loss is a reminder that late-game execution and rebounding margins remain the difference between close wins and narrow defeats in a crowded conference race.
Both teams return to action quickly, and both will treat this tape as a measuring stick: Memphis for how its half-court defense holds up against elite shooting, and Golden State for how it protects the paint when the game slows down.