Wednesday night marked the best and worst of Jordan Poole in the Golden State Warriors' thrilling 122-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Poole made a terrific play to get under the basket on the inbounds pass from Donte DiVincenzo for the game-winning layup with one second remaining.
The 23-year-old finished the game with an efficient 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, seven assists and four rebounds. He led all players in plus-minus at plus-15.
Poole's heroic moment at the very end did ease some of the frustration about his decision-making earlier in the game.
With the Warriors up 116-114 with just over one minute remaining, Poole caught a pass well behind the three-point line and decided to throw up a shot when Stephen Curry, who was right next to him, called for the ball.
Instead of giving the ball to the two-time NBA MVP, Poole fired up a shot that missed. Curry, in frustration, slumped his shoulders and threw his mouthpiece as he was running back on defense. The officials whistled Curry for a technical foul and ejected him from the game.
Not surprisingly, Warriors fans had a lot to say about Poole's absent-minded play in a key moment.
The game-winner does buy Poole a lot more goodwill than it looked like he was going to get.
Prior to his ejection, Curry was having a fantastic game. He led all players with 34 points and went 10-of-19 from the field.
Poole was involved in another key moment, when he assisted on Klay Thompson's go-ahead three-pointer with 14.1 seconds left that put the Warriors up 120-118. Brandon Clarke tied the game on Memphis' next possession, setting up Poole for the game-winner.
This was a huge win for the Warriors that got their record back to .500 at 24-24. They have won both of their head-to-head meetings with the Grizzlies this season. These two teams will play two more games at the FedEx Forum in March.
Golden State will host the Toronto Raptors on Friday looking to get over .500 for the first time since Jan. 4. The Grizzlies, which have lost four straight games, will wrap up their five-game road trip on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
