MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Golden State Warriors are still the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. But the Memphis Grizzlies have taken them from seemingly invincible to vulnerable.

The Warriors now trail his series 2-1 and Warriors coach Steve Kerr wasn't sugar-coating the situation.

"This is our moment of truth," Kerr said after Memphis had held off a late charge for a 99-89 victory on Saturday night at FedExForum.

"I have to play better for us to win, especially on the road," said Warriors guard and NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, who finished with 23 points and six assists.

Curry was just 8 of 21 from the floor and 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

"It's frustrating, but at the same time fun because it's a challenge," he said. "Obviously, we've been hit in the mouth a couple of times in a row."

While Curry again struggled, Golden State guard Klay Thompson scored 20 points, going 8 of 13 from the field. The Warriors made just 6 of 26 3-point attempts for 23.1 percent -- identical to what they shot in the Game 2 loss at Oracle Arena.

In Game 3, the Grizzlies reminded the Warriors -- and perhaps the NBA -- that they will be true to themselves and too bad if that's not judged to be as pretty as the style the Warriors play when they're hitting all those jump shots and Curry and Thompson are living up to the "Splash Brothers" nickname.

"We've been together for a while," said Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who posted a double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds and made 9 of 10 free throws. "We understand what are strengths are and at the end of games we aren't going to panic."

Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph, who finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, said, "We've been here before. We know what it takes."

By "here," Randolph meant the playoffs. It's not unchartered territory for the Warriors, but it is as the conference's top seed, as the team carrying the weighty expectations.

After making 20 turnovers in the Game 2 loss, Golden State committed 17 in Game 3 that led to 22 Memphis points.

"That was a killer," Kerr said. "If I had to guess, I'd say seven or eight were unforced errors."

But the others can be chalked up to the Grizzlies' relentless defense, led by swingman Tony Allen. He had four more steals in Game 3 to go with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and a block.

"It's the playoffs," Allen said, "and adrenaline is up."

The Grizzlies led by 16 at halftime and had their largest lead with 10:38 left in the fourth quarter when Randolph knocked down a step-back jumper for an 83-64 advantage.

Gasol did most of his work in the first half but hit a jumper that beat the shot clock with 2:06 left to hike the Grizzlies' lead to 93-85. Gasol fouled out with 1:45 left.

Randolph scored 13 points in the second half.

"Marc carried us for a while and Zach carried us for a while," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said.

Golden State got to within four at 88-84 with 3:15 to play on a Harrison Barnes layup (16 points, six rebounds). But Memphis closed on an 11-5 run to seal the victory. Two of the Warriors' 17 turnovers came in the final 1:20 of the game.

Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who again played with a mask because of a face injury, had 11 points and five assists. Guard Courtney Lee finished with 11 points and four assists.

Memphis shot 45.1 percent from the field (37 of 82). The Grizzlies dominated the paint, outscoring the Warriors 46-32.

Golden State shot 43.2 percent from the floor (32 of 74). Warriors forward Draymond Green finished with six points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.

"It was definitely a physical game," said Green, who was one of four Warriors to have at least four fouls. "But one thing we have to do is use their pressure against them. Right now, I think we're letting their pressure get the best of us."

NOTES: Statistically speaking, the winner of Saturday's game was going to have a huge advantage. According to STATS LLC, when an NBA team takes a 2-1 lead in a best-of-seven series, that team goes on to win the series 81.7 percent of the time. ... Grizzlies PG Mike Conley scored 22 points in Game 2 and played wearing a mask after having surgery for facial fractures suffered in the Portland series. Collectively, the Grizzlies are behind the mask, too. "We're still the underdogs," Conley said.