MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Stephen Curry didn't take his first shot Monday night until there was about three minutes left in the first quarter.

However, the slow start was intentional, and it didn't stop the NBA's Most Valuable Player from finishing with 33 points as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 101-84 at FedExForum to even their Western Conference semifinal series at two games apiece.

"I thought his mindset changed," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Early in the game, he wasn't shooting a whole lot, just trying to get the ball moving, which was our focus. He was patient early, and the game came to him."

Curry shot 11-for-22 from the floor, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range, and he also had eight rebounds and five assists. It was the point guard's fourth 30-point game of the 2015 postseason.

For his part, Curry said he never doubted himself even as he was struggled through a 2-for-11 performance from 3-point range in Game 2 and a 2-for-10 showing in Game 3. Curry and some teammates went to a local eatery -- Blues City Cafe -- after Game 3 on Saturday night, and it took the edge off.

"I had catfish," Curry said with a smile. "It helped."

Forward Draymond Green (16 points and 10 rebounds) also helped at the start of Game 4, scoring eight of the Warriors' first 10 points.

"I knew I had to be aggressive on the offensive end," Green said. "That gives Steph and Klay (Thompson) a chance to get open and loosen up the defense a little bit."

The Warriors led by as many as 26 points in the third quarter, and the Grizzlies never made a hard run at them. The Grizzlies' last lead came at the 7:52 mark in the first quarter when a 3-pointer by point guard Mike Conley (10 points, seven assists and three steals) gave Memphis a 9-8 edge.

Memphis clamped down on the Warriors' offense in winning the second and third games of the series, holding Golden State to 23 percent shooting from 3-point range. On Monday night, however, the Warriors rediscovered their outside shooting, hitting 14 of 33 (42.4 percent) from long distance. Four Golden State players made at least three 3-pointers.

Thompson finished with 15 points, forward Harrison Barnes chipped in 12 points, and reserve swingman Andre Iguodala contributed 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Overall, the Warriors made 38 of 80 shots from the field (47.5 percent).

Memphis hit 33 of 88 shots (37.5 percent), including just four of 18 3-point attempts (22.2 percent). Center Marc Gasol finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Forward Zach Randolph added 12 points and 11 rebounds, and forward Jeff Green also scored 12 points.

"To give up 101 is not the worst thing in the world, especially to them," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "But we're going to need to score 100 points. At some point, we are going to have to score 100 points to win a game against them. You can't keep just running your defense out there and keeping them on the field for so long."

Said Gasol: "We got in scramble mode too early defensively."

Kerr made an adjustment at the start of Game 4 by having center Andrew Bogut guard Memphis swingman Tony Allen, who is known for his defense. What the move meant in practicality was Bogut could play rover and cheat to the paint as Allen was left wide open. Allen took the bait by attempting and missing three shots from 3-point range in the first quarter.

"Hopefully, they'll do it again and I'll take advantage of it," Allen said.

The Warriors closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run and had a 28-20 lead going into the second period.

"We had to get more creative defensively," Kerr said. "We just tried to get as much help in the paint as we could. It paid off because we got off to a good start."

The victory kept in place the Warriors' streak of never losing three consecutive games this season and returned home-court advantage to Golden State. Game 5 is in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday. Game 6 is back in Memphis on Friday, and Game 7, if necessary, will be in Oakland on Sunday.

Curry is confident about what is now a best-of-three series.

"You get frustrated about missing shots, but you never get down on yourself," he said. "We are competitors, and as long as there is another game, you have an opportunity to change it."

NOTES: Warriors reserve F/C Marreese Speights was out Monday night after straining his right calf in Game 3. Veteran Golden State F David Lee, who did not play in Game 3 and totaled just nine minutes in the first two games, played 15 minutes in Game 4 in Speights' absence and scored five points. ... Memphis C Marc Gasol essentially matched his playoff averages of 19.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.50 blocks, finishing Monday's with 19, 10, 6 and one.