SAN FRANCISCO — Warriors star guard Stephen Curry scored an NBA-season-high 50 points in Golden State’s 127-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.
Curry finished the night 14-for-28 from the field, 9-for-19 from 3-point range and 13-for-13 from the free throw line, while chipping in 10 assists and seven rebounds in 35 minutes.
“That was just a stunning performance by Steph,” coach Steve Kerr said. “… He was amazing. I want to say I’ve never seen anything like it but I’ve been watching it for seven years, so I have seen something like it and still it’s just incredible to watch.”
Curry started the night on a personal 10-0 run and just kept rolling, hitting shots from all over the floor as the Chase Center crowd repeatedly serenaded him with “MVP!” chants.
It was the 10th 50-point game of Curry’s career, and he became the third Warriors player in franchise history to put up a line of 50 points and 10 assists, joining Wilt Chamberlain (Feb. 13, 1963) and Rick Barry (Feb. 23, 1974).
In his 13th NBA season, even Curry can’t always tell when he’s going to have an offensive explosion like he did on Monday night.
“It’s kind of hard to say because obviously you made the first two and they were both in rhythm, the way the ball comes off your hand feels good,” Curry said. “You kind of just stay in the moment and every possession it starts to kind of build on the previous one. Maybe going into the half, the shot that got us within four, the way the game had gone, you carry that momentum into the locker room, come out in the third quarter, that’s when you kind of start to wait for the avalanche to fall — and it did.”
At age 33, Curry also passed Chamberlain (31) as the oldest player in NBA history to post a 50-10 game. He now has four 50-point games at age 32 or older, second most in NBA history behind Michael Jordan (5).
“It doesn’t get old, for sure,” Kerr said of Curry. “I think one thing I hope people realize when they’re watching him do what he did tonight is how competitive he is. He rises to the occasion over and over again because he loves a challenge and tonight was a huge challenge, down 15 against a team that is really talented … you could see Steph’s competitiveness on full display along with his skill.”
After Curry knocked down his final basket of the night — a running 16-foot floater with 3 minutes, 59 seconds left in regulation — he checked out moments later to a standing ovation from fans while receiving high-fives up and down the bench.
The big night almost didn’t happen given that Curry injured his left shoulder early in the first quarter. After getting it looked at by the Warriors’ training staff, Curry stayed in the game and wore a heating pack on the bench during breaks to keep the shoulder loose.
“It kind of got jammed on a screen,” Curry said. “Similar thing that happened in the last preseason game, but just a little tweak and it’s fine.”
With the win, the Warriors improved to a league-best 9-1. While neither Curry nor Kerr seemed interested in the conversation surrounding the team’s apparent renaissance to start the season, Kerr acknowledged that it was nice — after a strong finish to last season — to be “in the fight again” as one of the top teams in the league.
With Curry and a motivated Draymond Green leading the way as Klay Thompson continues his recovery from an ACL and Achilles injury, the organization is optimistic that the two-time MVP can keep the group’s winning ways going.
“I think he’s in the best shape of his life,” Kerr said of Curry. “The last few years I think he’s elevated his strength and his conditioning. He’s a machine out there. He doesn’t get tired. He’s going full-bore on both ends and it’s amazing to watch him.”
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com