Stephen Curry had never been happier about a win in the 11th game of the regular season than he was about the Golden State Warriors 116-113 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
Coming off a five-game losing streak, the Warriors considered this to be as close to a must-win game as possible this early in the season.
Their win largely came down to the latest Curry takeover, in addition to some timely 3-pointers by Andrew Wiggins down the stretch.
Curry finished the night with a game-high — and season-high — 47 points on 17-of-24 shooting, including 7-of-12 from 3, eight rebounds, and eight assists. He scored 17 of his points in the fourth quarter. Curry is the first player to record such a stat line and has no turnovers since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“It was very [2022] Game 4 of the NBA Finals to me. He just wasn’t going to allow us to lose,” Draymond Green said. “Take that with a grain of salt because I’m not saying this game was as important. But you know when to get out of the way. It was one of those times where he was taking over.”
Curry’s dominance has been desperately needed by Golden State through the early portion of the season as it navigates defensive struggles and an unproductive bench. But Curry insists the weight he is carrying for his team is not a burden.
“We have to understand that [the young players] are all going to get an opportunity to perform, and there are going to be some struggles — some really high highs, and some really low lows,” Curry said. “That’s the story of this team. As vets, you understand every year is a little different and you are ready for that challenge. For these young guys to try to find themselves in this league and also a specific role, it’s challenging.”
Curry has scored at least 30 points in eight of the 10 games he’s played, becoming the third player in franchise history to do so alongside Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Berry.
So far, Curry has made 53 3-pointers this season, the second most through a player’s first 10 games of a season — trailing only his record of 59 from the 2018-19 season.
“Steph was just breathtaking,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s obviously one of the greatest players of all time, and he plays so well on so many nights. But this even seemed like something special for him.”
Curry played 38 minutes against Sacramento, as did Klay Thompson. Green added 36 minutes, and Andrew Wiggins played a game-high 40. Kerr said because those four players sat out against the New Orleans Pelicans two nights ago, and the team desperately needed the win, he felt comfortable “chasing this one with heavy minutes” for the starters.
Source-ESPN
