Stephen Curry, after having his highest scoring night to date, twirled an arm in the air to thank a small applauding section of family members in the nearly empty arena and then joyfully disappeared into a tunnel.
On Sunday night, Curry scored a career-high 62 points when he let one fly from deep under pressure with a minute and a half left for another flawless swish as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 137-122 to even their two-game series.
Stephen Curry Scores
It’s fantastic! Curry added, “I adore the intensity and competition that this sport provides.” I never try to avoid it. I’m really thrilled to be in a situation where I can perform at my best.
Early in his 12th NBA season, Curry had the top scoring game of the year, scoring a career-high 61 points on 18-of-31 shooting and 8-of-16 from deep. He scored 30 points for the 10th time in his career in the first half, helping the Warriors take a 66-54 lead into halftime. Afterward, his team increased their lead, and he made sure to double his score by having his teammates constantly remind him.
Rookie James Wiseman remarked, “He was making every shot within like 10 seconds and we couldn’t even keep up.”
The only blemish on Curry’s otherwise perfect night came in the first quarter, when his franchise record of 80 consecutive free throws was broken. That streak began on March 29, 2019, in a game against Memphis.
At that point, he suddenly began choking. Coach Steve Kerr joked that he would give the game ball to Wiseman before giving it to the player who truly deserved it.
Against the Trail Blazers, Curry made a career-high 18 of 19 shots. The 7-foot-2 Jusuf Nurkic was no match for Curry, who at 6 feet, 3 inches tall, took him on head-on.
Trail Blazers head Coach Terry Stotts Remarked, “He did a Little Bit of Everything.”
Boogied down was what Curry did. He stomped his feet and let out a yelp of joy. After being limited to just five games due to a fractured left hand during the coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 season, the 32-year-old two-time MVP closed his eyes and flashed an open-mouthed grin as brother-in-law and teammate Damion Lee poured water over his head.
Curry explains that the “great ones” are able to ignore negative feedback and embrace high standards because they “draw off of their own energy” when working toward a goal they are passionate about.
