Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Make it three months and counting since the Golden State Warriors have lost in front of their raucous fans.
Stephen Curry had 22 points, seven assists and four steals and the Warriors routed the Memphis Grizzlies 101-86 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.
The Warriors went 39-2 at Oracle Arena during the regular season and have won the last 21 games in their building -- including three postseason games. They haven't lost at home since Jan. 27, when the Chicago Bulls beat them 113-111 in overtime.
Courtney Lee's 3-pointer 21 seconds into the game was the only time Golden State trailed.
The Warriors hadn't played since finishing off a sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans last Saturday.
"A little tricky because of all the time off, but the effort and intensity was where we needed it," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said.
Game 2 is Tuesday, again in Oakland.
There's still no timetable for Memphis guard Mike Conley's return from a facial fracture, but he traveled with the team and watched on from the bench. His left eye was still visibly swollen. He suffered the injury in Game 3 of the Portland series and missed the final two games of the set after undergoing surgery for the fractures.
Kerr admitted the Warriors had a huge advantage in the backcourt due to the absence of Conley.
"He's a great player," he said.
The series offers a contrast of styles. The fast-paced Warriors led the NBA in scoring, while the methodical Grizzlies finished second in scoring defense.
Golden State's offense handidly won the first round.
The Warriors led by as many as 16 in a blistering first half where they shot 61.5 percent (24-of-39), tallying 17 assists on 24 made field goals, and knocked down 8-of-16 from beyond the arc.
They were up by nine at the break, quickly built the cushion back to 16 in the first few minutes of the second half and cruised from there.
Golden State finished 50.6 percent (39-of-77) from the floor and nailed 13- of-28 from long distance.
"They got too many easy baskets," Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said.
Klay Thompson posted 18 points and six assists and Draymond Green added 16 points for the top-seeded Warriors, who finished with the best regular-season record in franchise history at 67-15.
Marc Gasol supplied 21 points and nine rebounds, while Zach Randolph supplied 20 points and nine boards for fifth-seeded Memphis, which is in the conference semifinals for the third time in five years.
After Lee hit his triple, Green began an 8-0 spurt with a 3 and capped it with another one to help the Warriors race out to an 8-3 start. They recorded six straight points later in the frame, with an Andre Iguodala finger roll upping the advantage to 27-18.
Golden State took a 32-25 margin into the second.
Marreese Speights' hook along the right baseline staked the Warriors to their 16-point gap, 49-33, but the Grizzlies charged back in it with a 10-3 swing as a Gasol pull-up jumper trimmed the deficit to 58-51.
The Warriors headed into the locker room with a 61-52 lead and Thompson's driving layup finished off a 9-2 flurry for a 72-56 advantage.
Consecutive treys by Thompson and Curry later in the period made it 80-60.
Golden State led 83-66 after three and coasted in the fourth.
Game Notes
The Warriors went 2-1 against Memphis during the regular season, although the Grizzlies came in 12-5 against Golden State since the 2010-11 season. Memphis won five in a row at Oracle Arena at one point during the stretch ... The Grizzlies fell to 9-6 this season without Conley on the floor ... Memphis shot 45.2 percent (33-of-73) from the field.