Warriors notes: Memphis' Tony Allen draws ire from Warriors fans

OAKLAND - Sunday’s Game 1 of the Warriors-Grizzlies series may have been missing an element of suspense, but it was not lacking a villain. Memphis’ Tony Allen took care of that when the teams took the court after a second-quarter timeout and the guard traipsed straight through the middle of a performance by the Warriors’ Jr. Jam Squad dancers.

The Oracle Arena fans started booing, and they weren’t satisfied when Allen patted one of the dancers as sort of a late apology. In fact, they booed Allen every time he touched the ball for the rest of the game.

“It was like slo-mo, because I don’t think he realized where he was walking,” Golden State’s Stephen Curry said. “He was kind of just locked in the moment, and they were still dancing, and our fans obviously were protecting the Warriors Ground in all sorts of ways. It was pretty funny to see that happen.”

Allen had a good game, with 15 points and his usual solid defense. Curry was impressed - with the Jr. Jam Squad.

“I don’t think it messed up their choreography, either,” he said. “They really killed that dance.”

BIG NEWS COMING?

A couple hours after Sunday’s game, CSN Bay Area reported what everyone around here has been expecting for weeks - that Curry will be named the NBA’s most valuable player of 2014-15.

The official announcement could come as soon as Monday.

Curry was considered to be in competition with Houston’s James Harden and Cleveland’s LeBron James for the annual honor. He led the NBA in 3-pointers (286) and free-throw percentage (91.4), was third in 3-point percentage (44.3), and sixth in scoring (23.8) and assists (7.7). And of course, he played for the team with the league’s best winning percentage.

Sunday, teammates were still lobbying.

“He gets so much attention that we end up getting some cheap baskets from it,” center Andrew Bogut said. “We have the best record in the NBA. It’s pretty clear cut who should be the MVP. He’s our leader and our best scorer, and he’s gotten much better for us defensively, too, which people don’t really notice. So we go as he goes.”

BARNES’ DOOR IS OPEN

His stat line was modest: 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, one block. But small forward Harrison Barnes popped up with a big play at several key points of Game 1, including a couple of aggressive offensive rebounds in the third quarter, giving the Warriors hope that he can be the strong fifth starter they need against Memphis.

“I thought Harrison was terrific,” coach Steve Kerr said. “I thought about bringing him back in down the stretch, but we had a big lead.”

MAN DOWN FOR GRIZZLIES

Mike Conley wanted to play for Memphis. The Grizzlies coaches and players wanted him to play, too. But eight days after bones around the point guard’s left eye were shattered by an elbow thrown by Portland’s C.J. McCollum, it just seemed too soon.

“I’m no doctor, but he wasn’t comfortable playing, and I wasn’t comfortable saying, ‘You should play. I know your head is throbbing like a thermometer that gets too hot,’ ” Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. “But I think it was the right decision for him.”