Warriors’ Gui Santos reflects on ‘special’ game-winner in comeback over Grizzlies

SAN FRANCISCO– Opportunities in the NBA are few and far between, especially for the guys fighting on the fringes. And for the 14th and 15th men at the end of the bench, the players on two-way deals fighting for a guaranteed contract, it’s on them to be ready when those rare moments arise. But when those Cinderella stories come true, and one of those players breaks through, it makes for the moments that make sports oh so romantic.

That is precisely what made Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos’ game-winning layup in the undermanned Dubs’ 114-113 win over the Memphis Grizzlies particularly special for Pat Spencer.

The recently converted two-way guard shared what it was like to watch Santos find his way around the rim after a pass from a falling Al Horford that helped complete the Warriors’ 17-point comeback.

“We spent so much time together, hiking back and forth from Santa Cruz to dinner to just getting to know each other off the court,” Spencer reflected.

The two players spent years at the end of the bench together, and countless scrimmages with the coaches after practices for the players not seeing playing time to get some run. In that time, they formed a bond that has remained as both players have stepped up this season in the absence of injured stars Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.

“It’s pretty special,” Spencer continued. “I mean, this league, things move fast, and you lose teammates as time goes on. But to be able to have– we’ve been here from the jump together. Our first year here was together. So it’s pretty special. I’m really happy for him.”

Gui Santos and the cherry on top

For Santos, who finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, all he could do with his game-deciding basket was revel in it.

“It’s great,” Santos said with a huge smile when asked how it felt to score the game-winner.

“Feels good, especially the way the game was like. We could feel that we were not bringing the energy that we usually bring the whole game. But the last quarter was different. We just were there, like, open together, everybody happy, everybody just playing for each other, playing hard on defense, running for each other. So the last game-winning basket feels like we call ‘cereja do bolo’ like the fruit at the top of the cake.”

Santos’s “cereja do bolo” basket made a rather sleepy and lifeless cake look quite tasty. The atmosphere of the first three quarters of the game lacked any semblance of energy. Empty seats littered the lower bowl, the crowd struggled to find things to cheer for, and the sloppiness of the on-court product all combined to make for a lifeless basketball environment.

That was until the Warriors’ fourth-quarter comeback. Santos credited assistant coach Anthony Vereen and his in-game motivational speech for injecting some much-needed energy back into the team. As a result, Golden State held Memphis scoreless through the final four minutes of the game, completing an 11-0 run to win the game.

Clutch game goes right for once

Alongside Santos, Horford chipped in with 16 points and 9 rebounds, Spencer added 17 points and 9 assists, and Moses Moody gave them 15 points on 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

It was a strength-in-numbers win, culminating in a chaotic final sequence in which they forced two bad misses from the Grizzlies on the final possession.

It was one of those defensive possessions in which all five Warriors on the floor were moving on a string. Santos, Moody, and Horford force Javon Small into a dead-end drive. Then those three forced Jahmai Mashack into an ill-advised layup attempt, all while De’Anthony Melton took away the kickout. And finally, Brandin Podziemski capped off the possession by contesting a rushed Cam Spencer turnaround, making him drop the ball into the hands of Melton, who ran away with it and the victory.

A much-needed team win for a group that’s been on the wrong end of some clutch-time losses.

“We were probably due for one of those,” Kerr said with a relieved look on his face. “It seems like we’ve lost four or five of those this year, and I’m not sure we really deserved it, but we’ll take it.”

Other notes

• Draymond Green was not in the closing five group for the Warriors as Kerr opted to go with the hot hand. “Well, once you get a couple stops, and you can feel the energy. You just stay with it,” Kerr said. “Just felt like that group was going well defensively and we just stayed with them.” Kerr did the same thing with Green in the Warriors’ 101-97 comeback over the Phoenix Suns. Green was not in during their 16-2 run to close the game until the final defensive possession of the game.
• Kristaps Porzingis, who watched the game for the first time as a Warrior, will take Jonathan Kuminga’s locker next to Santos and Horford. Porzingis has an obvious history with Horford from their Boston Celtic days, but he and Santos competed against each other for Brazil and Latvia in the 2024 Olympic qualifiers. Brazil defeated Latvia in the final to clinch their spot in Paris. Santos said he Porzingis talked about that when they met in LA. Santos also said they both speak Spanish, which should help them bond and get the big man acclimated.
• It was the Warriors’ 23rd clutch game of the season (games in which the score is five or less in the final five minutes). With the win, they are 10-13 in clutch games (4-5 at home).

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