Boll, Thompson Combined For 56 Points As Warriors Thrashed Grizzlies On Christmas Day

Even with superstar Stephen Curry sidelined by injury and Andrew Wiggins, who was excellent in last season's playoffs, sidelined, the Warriors have stumbled. Although the Grizzlies had the best record in the West Division heading into Christmas, Ja Morant's pregame message was that its West Division rivals were just fine. But when the two sides meet on Christmas Day, things are not going the Grizzlies' way.

The Grizzlies, making their first Christmas appearance as a team, were tied down in the Chase Center, crushed by the Warriors in the second half and trailed by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter before the reigning NBA champions beat them 123-109 to end their recent losing streak.

Jordan Poole scored a team-high 32 points, especially in the first quarter when he scored 17 points, which was key to the Warriors' early advantage. Boll became the third youngest player to score at least 30 points on Christmas Day, according to stats.

But Boll was ejected early in the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul of the game and getting ejected for the first time in his career. In fact, the Warriors had a big lead, but the team picked up six technical fouls, including Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Klay Thompson and coach Steve Kerr.

Ball and Morant each scored more than 20 points in the first two quarters to give Golden State a five-point lead. Thompson and Ball combined for 22 points in the third, but the Grizzlies got within one on Morant's solo shot. At this time, the young Jerome (Ty Jerome) sprang up, hit 2 outside alone with 10 points, led the team out of a wave of 19 to 5 fierce offensive, lay the foundation for the win.

The Warriors had a relatively smooth second half, with six players scoring in double figures. Thompson scored 24 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 19 and Draymond Green had 13 rebounds and 13 assists. Jerome, Anthony Lamb and Moses Moody also combined for 35 points off the bench.

The Grizzlies almost watched Morant, who finished with 36 points, eight assists and seven rebounds on 15-of-29 shooting. Dillon Brooks added 13 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. 11 and Tyus Jones 13. The Grizzlies shot just 9 of 39 from 3-point range, twice as many outside shots as the Warriors, which was the difference between winning and losing.