0 Comments
pla Nov 8, 2016 OAKLAND, Calif. -- In making history, Stephen Curry actually brought a sense of the familiar to an awkward season, claiming a record 13 3-pointers as the Golden State Warriors bested the New Orleans Pelicans 116-106 on Monday night. It was expected that this record would be his, eventually. Or, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr termed his reaction to the literally unprecedented, "It didn't surprise me." Less expected was that so much of Curry would be needed to fight off a quite defeated New Orleans squad. In any event, a game after he did not register a triple, Curry seized his rightful place in the record books, finishing with 46 points on 26 shots, aided by only one made free throw. If it wasn't for Klay Thompson's struggles, we might have been talking about the reigning, two-time MVP headed into this one. Curry had not been bad so far this season, but also had not quite been himself, either. At times he has been hesitant, deferential to Kevin Durant's groove. Against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, he was simply way off, going 0-of-10 from deep. "My process is the same but I had another level of focus the last two days," Curry said of bouncing back from his bad game in L.A. "Just trying to get my rhythm back and see the ball go in. Our assistant coach [Bruce Fraser] had a couple good days of work and thankfully it translated to some success tonight." Stephen Curry drained an NBA single-game record 13 3-pointers during Monday's win over the Pelicans. Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty ImagesOn Monday night, he was Stephen Curry as we came to know him last season, firing with equal parts abandon and accuracy. In this game, a few of his 13 3-pointers came off broken plays and flubbed passes -- questionable, reflexive answers to chaos. On this night, he was bringing back the potency of "bad" shots. Nobody else attempts as many or makes as many. He has the green light on a road nobody else dares drive. For Curry to be Curry, some shots have to be "bad." Take the flick of insanity he tried with 19 seconds on the shot clock, around the four-minute mark of the second quarter. Led by an overly ambitious pass from Thompson, Curry pushed the ball between two defenders, and, then, from 26 feet, pulled. The box score listed the make as a "running jump shot" from 26 feet, because that's indeed what it was. FORECAST: RECORD HIGH IN TEENS Stephen Curry bagged a record 13 3-pointers in his inimitable style. • Steph tops own best 3 night • Curry reclaims devastating style • Stats & Info on Curry's spree • Sans KD, Thunder off to best start • D-Wade: Heat fans, embrace future • Seventh circle of Pels: 0-7 • Pop & Tim: It must be love He was in a flow, having made two before earning a try at the ridiculous ("Usually those are after I made a couple," Curry mused of his broken-play 3-pointers). In the fourth quarter, a similar crescendo of three straight triples helped him topple the record. The record breaker came off an unsuccessful screen, with little daylight and two contesting Pelicans. It was another "bad" shot made good. It's all enough to distract from how the Warriors lost a 21-point lead to the (now 0-and-7) Pelicans, before Curry provided the final push. Certain issues continue to nag. What was presumed to be super team dominance actually looks more like a fidgety process of finding what works. For Thompson, it's remembering how to shoot from deep. He had a good game from midrange and finished with 24 points on 11-of-20 shooting, but he is still searching for his own breakout performance. For Zaza Pachulia, it's looking to find whatever was working for him early last season. Captain Andre Iguodala's play is of particular concern. There are murmurs of whether 13 seasons have taken their toll, but his issue might be of a different kind of timing. He has been rushing on 3-point attempts, and tends to do much better when he takes his time. On the bright side for Golden State, David West had a good run of play at center. Durant continues to be efficient and brutal out of the post. Draymond Green sacrificed shots for others, while doing most everything else quite well. As Kerr said of Green, "He's been brilliant. He's probably come to understand there's not going to be as many points for him to score. It's simple math in terms of who has the ball. But he's impacting the game in so many ways with his passing and his defense and his communication." Those might be subplots for another day, though, seeing as how the two-time MVP made history in brilliant fashion. Out of the morass of an unexpectedly tough game against the Pelicans, he was the separation. Bad shots saved a bad game, as Curry reclaimed a style of devastation all his own. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |