Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket against the Memphis Grizzlies on May 9, 2022 in San Francisco, California. Photo: VCG

Stephen Curry had a game-high 32 points, including two key free throws with 45.7 seconds remaining, and the host Golden State Warriors held on to beat the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies 101-98 for a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal playoff series Monday night.

Despite having coach Steve Kerr on the sidelines due to a positive COVID-19 test, the Warriors were able to overcome nine-for-37 shooting on three-pointers to move within one game of their sixth trip to the Western Finals in the last eight seasons.

Warriors assistant Mike Brown, named earlier in the day as the next head coach of the Sacramento Kings, replaced Kerr at the front of the bench.

With Morant unable to play because of a right knee injury sustained in the fourth quarter of Game 3, the Grizzlies stunned the Warriors with a 15-8 start and led by as many as 12 early on.

Memphis, in fact, never trailed until the final minute.

After Curry had drawn the Warriors even on a jumper with 3:25 remaining, the Grizzlies went back up 93-90 on a Jaren Jackson Jr interior hoop and Kyle Anderson free throw with 2:32 to go.

Neither team scored again until Jordan Poole hit two free throws with 1:11 remaining to make it a one-point game, setting the stage for a Curry parade to the foul line.

After Dillon Brooks misfired on a three-point attempt, Curry drew a foul on a drive to the hoop and hit his go-ahead free throws with 45.7 seconds left.

Jackson missed on a short floating attempt to regain the lead for Memphis, and when Curry was fouled on the rebound, he dropped in two more free throws to extend the margin to three.

Curry capped his 32-point performance with four subsequent free throws and Andrew Wiggins hit one, allowing the Warriors to survive a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Brooks.

Curry's game-high point total came despite four-for-14 shooting on three-pointers. Klay Thompson went zero-for-seven from deep on a 14-point night, while Poole was zero-for-three from long range en route to 14 points.

Wiggins finished with 17 points and Otto Porter Jr 12 - all on three-pointers - for the Warriors, who shot just 40 percent overall. Wiggins completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, while Draymond Green grabbed a team-high 11 boards to complement five assists and two points.

Jackson paced the Grizzlies with 21 points, while Tyus Jones, starting in place of Morant, contributed 19 points, six rebounds and five assists to the losing cause.

Coming back from a one-game suspension, Brooks had 12 points and a game-high-tying eight assists, while Kyle Anderson put up 17 points and Steven Adams registered a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double.

The Grizzlies hit just nine of their 35 three-point attempts, with Jones' three-for-seven effort leading the way.

Curry was at a loss to explain Golden State's lacklustre offensive display, which came so soon after Saturday's free-scoring game-three blitz.

"That's basketball," Curry said. "We got a little rushed in the first six minutes and I set the tone for some ugly offense.

"But credit to our defense. They kept us in it. We had a chance to weather the storm."

Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins was left ruing his team's agonising late loss.

"We played well for 48 minutes, the ball just didn't bounce our way a couple of times late in the fourth quarter," Jenkins said.