Steph appreciates battles vs. OKC after closing out one other large win initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Bay Space
Stephen Curry already is well-known for his unimaginable abilities on a basketball courtroom, and he’s been recognized to flex his athletic prowess on the golf course a couple of instances.
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In spite of everything, Curry was sensible as a better for Golden State on Sunday in Oklahoma Metropolis. The 2-time NBA MVP scored eight of his season-high 36 factors within the fourth quarter and made a number of clutch performs down the stretch to assist the Warriors hand the Thunder their first house lack of the season in a 127-116 victory at Paycom Heart.
Not that Curry hasn’t finished it earlier than, particularly in OKC. He’s had a historical past of crushing the spirit of Thunder followers for years and was simply the most recent chapter in his e book of favourite locations to play.
“I prefer it,” Curry stated on NBC Sports activities Bay Space’s “Warriors Postgame Reside,” after Sunday’s win. “The one factor is cool, over the course of nevertheless a few years there’s solely a pair years the place OKC and us weren’t very related within the Western Convention. However for probably the most half it’s all the time been a battle and a grind right here. So that you stay up for it. It’s nice vitality, the followers are nice, their workforce is nice.
“And it’s clearly nice to get a win.”
For what looks as if the umpteenth time in his illustrious NBA profession, Curry shredded the Thunder like a block of cheese. He dropped a season-high 36 factors in 36 minutes and had seven assists with 5 rebounds.
Curry would have had extra had one of many referees not missed a blatant foul in opposition to the Thunder after the Warriors’ sharp-shooter nailed one of many seven 3-pointers he made.
“Steph was unimaginable,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr stated. “Nice rhythm. The impression that he made along with his passing – even when he wasn’t making photographs he was pulling defenders with him and that opened up the entire offense.”
On an evening when Golden State bought large scoring video games from Jonathan Kuminga, DeAnthony Melton, it was simply evident that Curry remains to be the person that drives the Warriors’ wagon.
Simply that rapidly, Golden State went from a workforce who many believed could be hard-pressed to only qualify for the play-in recreation to at least one that’s now being checked out as a critical contender within the Western Convention.
That his newest heroics got here in opposition to the Thunder is actually no shock. Previous to Sunday, Curry had a 26.7 scoring common over 46 profession video games in opposition to Oklahoma Metropolis, his third-highest mark in opposition to any NBA workforce.
This might need been one of many hardest Thunder workforce’s that Curry has confronted, too, despite the fact that OKC misplaced its beginning heart, Chet Holmgren, to an harm early within the recreation.
Earlier than that, the Thunder have been one of many prime defensive groups within the NBA. That they had a collective defensive ranking of 97.3 and had allowed just one participant to attain greater than 25 factors in opposition to them this season.
Till Curry got here to city.
Curry and the Warriors performed so nicely early on that Kerr had hoped to have the ability to give his level guard some further relaxation within the fourth quarter. These plans needed to be scrapped after the Thunder trimmed a 30-point result in 114-108.
After a Jonathan Kuminga dunk, Curry helped power a turnover then raced to the alternative finish of the courtroom, pump-faked on Lugentz Dort then sank a side-step 3-pointer with 2 minutes remaining, Curry additionally made a pair of free throws with 53 seconds left to assist seal the deal.
“Regarded prefer it was going to be an evening the place we might maintain him beneath half-hour once more, after which clearly OKC made that large run to begin the fourth,” Kerr stated. “Steph did an important job of coming again in and shutting it when it bought a little bit dicey.”
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