When it’s your night, it’s your night. And Stephen Curry had one of those nights in the Warriors’ 144-98 victory over the Clippers on Saturday evening at Oracle Arena.
The stage was set for something big – primetime, nationally televised matchup on ABC in one of the NBA’s premiere venues – and Curry stepped into the spotlight to say the least. And at no time was that more evident than at the end of the first half.
It all started when he pulled down a defensive rebound with five seconds left in the second quarter – one of his game-high nine boards in the game. He dribbled once with the left, avoided a defender with a behind-the-back dribble that took him toward the center of the floor and he took one more dribble with his right hand before gathering the ball, leaping off his left foot and releasing a shot from half-court … BUCKETS!
The funny thing is that the whole crowd seemed to expect him to sink the shot, and perhaps the only surprise was the fact that it hit nothing but the bottom of the net. Not bad for a shot that was officially measured as a 51-footer, his first shot beyond 40 feet this season after hitting four such shots during the 2015-16 season.
Turns out Curry was just getting started. After hitting a pair of 3-pointers in each of the first two quarters, Curry knocked down five more during a 25-point third quarter to finish the game with 43 points on 15-for-23 shooting and 9-for-13 on threes.
With the Dubs playing in Portland on Sunday night, Curry and the rest of the Warriors’ starting unit sat out the entire fourth quarter, as this game was well in hand. The Dubs shot 62 percent from the field and 50 percent on 3-pointers (17-for-34), racking up 35 assists against just 11 turnovers. The Dubs put up 41 and 45 points in the second and third quarters, their NBA-leading 12th and 13th 40-point quarters of the season. The end result was a 46-point victory, their largest of the season.
And what might quickly be forgotten about in the wake of Curry stealing the show with his 3-point prowess was Kevin Durant’s wildly efficient 23-point performance. He hit 9-of-11 shots from the floor, while Klay Thompson added 16 points in the win. James Michael McAdoo continued with his solid play off the bench with 10 points.
Now 40-7 on the season, the Dubs will look to keep the momentum rolling as they play the back end of a back-to-back in Portland on Sunday evening.
