Basketball: Steven Adams' NBA season ends as Golden State Warriors defeat Memphis Grizzlies

Steven Adams, like most big men, didn't have much fun trying to guard Steph Curry. Photo / AP

Kiwi centre Steven Adams' NBA season is over, with his Memphis Grizzlies side defeated by the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals.

Adams scored four points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 28 minutes in a 110-96 defeat in Game 6, having limped off before halftime with a right ankle injury before returning to little success as the Warriors wrapped up a 4-2 series win.

It was a disappointing playoffs for Adams, who was benched against the Minnesota Timberwolves before catching Covid. He returned and earned more minutes against Golden State, playing better but unable to make a substantial difference.

Klay Thompson knocked down eight three-pointers on the way to 30 points, Stephen Curry scored 29 with six threes, and Golden State – eliminated by Memphis in the play-in tournament last year — withstood a testy series to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2019, when the franchise reached their fifth straight NBA finals before losing to Toronto.

Draymond Green contributed 14 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, Kevon Looney outshone Adams with 22 rebounds, including 11 offensive, and Andrew Wiggins scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth, including a pair of timely threes.

The third-seeded Warriors will face the Phoenix-Dallas winner in the conference finals. Game 7 of that series is Monday in Phoenix.

After Thursday's 134-95 debacle on the Grizzlies' home floor in which they trailed by as many as 55, the Warriors were determined to do everything better, especially cutting down on the 22 turnovers.

The Warriors outrebounded the Grizzlies 70-44, becoming the first team to grab 70 rebounds in a playoff game since San Antonio had 75 against Denver in 1983.

Memphis again played without All Star guard Ja Morant, who missed his third straight game with a bone bruise in his troublesome right knee, but Thompson, back shining in the playoffs after his two and a half year absence with a pair of serious injuries, notched his fourth career postseason game with eight threes — tying Ray Allen, Curry, and Damian Lillard for most in NBA history.

- With AP