Boozer Caps 17-0 Run — Warriors Blow 12-Point Lead and Fall to 0-2
GOATIFYGolden State had a 12-point lead and less than four minutes to survive. Then Memphis scored 17 unanswered points. Cameron Boozer's turnaround jumper with 20.1 seconds remaining put the Grizzlies ahead, and a game the Warriors appeared to have controlled became a 111-108 home defeat. For Stephen Curry and a team adjusting to a dramatically changed roster, the most worrying number was not the final margin. It was the stretch between De'Anthony Melton's three-pointer at 3:47 and the moment Golden State finally scored again.
Boozer finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in only his second NBA regular-season game. Ty Jerome added 28, while Curry's 24 could not prevent Golden State from starting 0-2 for the first time since 2020-21. The finish says something about Memphis's emerging young core, but it also raises an urgent question for the Warriors: who can organize a reliable possession when the opponent turns up the pressure?
The 17-0 Run Turned a Comfortable Lead Into a Collapse
With 3:47 left, Melton connected from three-point range and the Warriors led 106-94. Golden State had recovered from a four-point halftime deficit, won the third quarter 34-24 and built what looked like a safe cushion at Chase Center. Yet its next meaningful offensive sequence never arrived. Memphis ripped off 17 straight points while the home team missed nine consecutive shots and failed to make another field goal.
The details explain why this was more than one unfortunate shooting spell. Jaylen Wells converted a four-point play to start the response. Boozer attacked the defense and made his free throws. Jerome's three-pointer reduced the gap to 106-105 with 1:24 remaining. Zach Edey then blocked a Curry attempt from deep, Wells split two free throws to tie the score, and both Curry and Podziemski missed three-pointers before Boozer found the winning shot. What had been a possession-management exercise became a series of isolated attempts against a defense that could anticipate where the ball was going.
The Warriors' early advantage came from movement and timely shot-making, not from dominating the paint. Podziemski was perfect on four first-quarter field-goal attempts and later hit the shot that first moved Golden State ahead in the third. The team closed that period with an 11-0 burst. Memphis effectively reversed the script at the very end, turning pressure defense and decisive rebounding into an even bigger unanswered run.
Late-game execution is not simply a matter of asking Curry to produce one more miracle. The final minutes require a second reliable handler, an outlet when defenders load up on the ball and enough screening discipline to avoid giving possessions away. Golden State had chances to break the run; it could not create the clean look or paint touch that would have forced Memphis to reset. A 12-point advantage disappeared because the Warriors stopped dictating the kind of shots they were taking.
Boozer's Winner Worked Because Memphis Won the Possessions Around It
The final shot belonged to Boozer, but Memphis's comeback was built by several players who each solved a different problem. The rookie forward supplied the composure to make a nine-foot turnaround with 20.1 seconds on the clock. Edey protected the rim and challenged the perimeter, most visibly by rejecting Curry's late three-point attempt. Wells contributed a critical four-point play and the free throw that leveled the game. Together, those moments made Boozer's winner possible.
Boozer's 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists are striking because of the stage and the timing. He was the third pick in the 2026 draft, and this was only his second regular-season appearance. His debut against Utah had produced seven points on 2-for-15 shooting, so the scoring jump was substantial. Against Golden State he did not merely pile up numbers while the game was loose; he stayed involved as Memphis needed stops, free throws and one composed decision after another.
The Grizzlies were far from flawless. They had surrendered an 11-0 run to close the third quarter, and their offense had stretches where the Warriors dictated the tempo. Memphis also committed far too many turnovers for a team expecting to win consistently against established opponents. What separates this victory from a routine early-season result is that the visitors were able to change the terms of the contest under maximum pressure. They stopped chasing a perfect possession and began collecting useful ones.
That distinction matters for evaluating Boozer's ceiling. A rookie can be gifted enough to score in a highlight reel and still struggle when defenses tighten. Boozer instead demonstrated the patience to get to his spot, the willingness to draw contact and the awareness to keep teammates involved. Memphis should not assume every late deficit will become a 17-0 run, but it has early evidence that its young frontcourt can influence a finish at both ends rather than waiting for a veteran to rescue it.
Ty Jerome Is Giving Memphis an Unexpected Second Scoring Engine
It would be easy to make this exclusively a Boozer story. Jerome's 28 points were the highest total in the game, and they came immediately after a 45-point opening-night performance against Utah. Those two outings have given Memphis a different offensive shape from the one opponents might have prepared for: the Grizzlies can threaten from the perimeter while their rookie forward supplies size, rebounding and interior pressure.
Jerome's biggest basket was the three that cut Golden State's lead to one point with 1:24 left. It did not complete the comeback, but it changed the defensive math. A team protecting a one-point advantage cannot simply concede the arc and sit in the paint against Boozer. The shot also came after Golden State had already missed chances to steady itself, turning each subsequent Warriors possession into a much higher-stakes decision.
Memphis also received 17 points from Wells and 11 from Cam Spencer. Those contributions matter because a young team's late-game offense often becomes predictable when it has only one dependable creator. The Grizzlies found multiple ways to score: Jerome from distance and off the dribble, Boozer through contact and the midrange, and complementary guards willing to take open opportunities. The balance was not always smooth, but the variety gave the comeback somewhere to go when its first action stalled.
There is a reasonable caution here. Two games are not enough to project Jerome's opening scoring rate across an 82-game season, and the opponent-specific matchups will change quickly. What can be said already is that Memphis has not needed to wait for its offense to settle into a single star's hands. A 2-0 start, a 45-point individual opener and a 17-0 road finish are not proof of contender status. They are, however, meaningful evidence of a group with several players capable of taking responsibility when a game swings.
The Warriors' Rookie Energy Is Real; Their Closing Structure Still Isn't
The most encouraging part of Golden State's night came from the players expected to carry more of the regular-season workload. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg had 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in his home debut. Podziemski also scored 18 and repeatedly supplied the offensive spark that got the Warriors back in front. Curry led the team with 24. Those are usable ingredients, particularly for a club working through a difficult opening schedule and frontcourt uncertainty.
But having several productive individual stat lines is not the same as having a dependable late-game system. The Warriors were up 90-84 entering the fourth and still had a 103-92 lead after Melton, Lendeborg and Podziemski combined on a burst of threes and a layup. They reached 106-94 with less than four minutes remaining. From there the ball movement and shot quality deteriorated. Their failure was not a lack of talent; it was an inability to turn the advantage into low-risk possessions.
Golden State also has to be careful about what it asks of its rookies. Lendeborg has the physical tools and versatility to help immediately, but he is learning NBA spacing, contact and emotional discipline in real time. His second technical foul in two career games came during a heated contest that also saw Draymond Green and Isaiah Stewart receive double technicals. The Warriors need that competitiveness without letting frustration add extra points or possessions to an opponent's comeback.
The schedule offers little time for reflection. Golden State travels to Phoenix on Saturday to face another team searching for its first win, while Memphis visits Sacramento on Sunday. A single October loss will not define the Warriors' season, and their veteran leadership gives them ways to adjust. Still, an 0-2 opening that includes a blowout against the Lakers and a blown 12-point home lead has exposed a specific issue. The next step is not simply to shoot better. It is to make the final four minutes look organized, regardless of whether Curry or a younger teammate takes the decisive shot.
Memphis earned this result by staying aggressive after the game appeared lost. Boozer provided the finish, Edey and Wells supplied essential stops and possessions, and Jerome made the comeback possible with another strong scoring night. The Grizzlies leave San Francisco at 2-0 with more than one reason to believe in their new core.
For Golden State, the problem is measurable and fixable: nine consecutive misses and a 17-point unanswered run when protecting a double-digit lead. Curry can still lead the attack, but the Warriors must give him cleaner decisions and more reliable support in the closing minutes. Their response in Phoenix will reveal whether this was an isolated collapse or an early warning about how their new roster functions under pressure.
