Grizzlies rout Warriors, Bucks hold off Nets

LOS ANGLES: The Memphis Grizzlies produced a devastating first-quarter scoring spree in a blowout 131-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors in the latest instalment of their rivalry with the NBA champions on Thursday.

The Grizzlies erupted for 48 points in the first period to take a stranglehold on the contest as Golden State’s suspect defense was exposed once more.

Tyus Jones led the Memphis scorers with 22 points while Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points apiece as six Grizzlies players finished in double figures.

The emphatic victory was a welcome piece of good news for Memphis after a challenging week that saw star point guard Ja Morant dropped by the team and put under investigation by the NBA for posting a video on social media of himself waving a handgun in a strip club.

The win also gave Memphis bragging rights over a Golden State team with whom they have developed an increasingly fractious rivalry in recent seasons.

The Warriors beat the Grizzlies in the Western Conference playoffs last season en route to the NBA title, and the buildup to Thursday’s game had been marked by public feuding between Memphis’ Dillon Brooks and Golden State’s Draymond Green.

The bad blood threatened to spill into Thursday’s clash, with the two men getting into a tense confrontation in the second quarter which ended with them being separated by a member of the officiating crew.

Brooks stoked controversy last week by voicing his antipathy toward Green and the Warriors, stating: “I don’t like Draymond at all. I just don’t like Golden State. I don’t like anything to do with them.”

Green later returned the fire, declaring on Wednesday on his podcast: “I quite frankly wouldn’t like a team that beats me all the time