Stephen Curry notched a career-high 50 points against the Sacramento Kings in the series decider to send the Golden State Warriors to the Conference semi-finals. Head coach Steve Kerr said "he's brilliant night after night, that's how I felt back in my playing days with Michael Jordan".
Monday 1 May 2023 10:41, UK
Stephen Curry notched a career-high 50 points against the Sacramento Kings in the series decider to send the Golden State Warriors to the Conference semi-finals.
With his big-game swagger on display for the world and that signature mouthpiece dangling from a celebratory grin, Curry delivered the most prolific game seven performance ever and answered time and again to will the Warriors on in their quest to defend their championship, with a 120-100 win against the Kings on Sunday evening.
His points total is the most in NBA history in a game seven, topping former team-mate Kevin Durant's 48 for the Nets against Milwaukee in 2021, which head coach Steve Kerr was quick to comment on, as well as likening him to another legend of the game.
"For Steph to be the first player ever to get 50 in a game seven, he's sublime," Kerr said. "We take him for granted. That's how I felt back in my playing days with Michael Jordan".
"You just have to remind yourself every once in a while, big picture, this is one of the greatest players in the history of the game".
After the game, Curry spoke on what it meant for the Warriors to rise from losing the opening two games, pull themselves back over the precipice, and line up the winner-takes-all showdown in Sacramento.
"It's amazing 'cuz you're still in the fight," Curry said after the game, "better than the alternative of on the outside looking in. Having been down 0-2 in this series, nothing was guaranteed, you don't take anything for granted."
Kerr wasn't the only one mesmerised by Curry's silky ball-handling. Team-mate and Splash Brother Klay Thompson went one further and said he would "forever remember game seven as the Steph Curry game."
Curry's stats were indeed as good as Thompson made them out to be. He shot 20 of 38 with seven 3s and delivered after almost every big play.
Bring on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals, with all the NBA Finals history between James and Golden State dating to his Cleveland days.
For Sacramento, after snapping a 16-year playoff drought - the longest in NBA history - under Coach of the Year Mike Brown, the special comeback season is over.
Despite the best efforts of De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, there was very little the Kings could do once the Warriors' core three got going.
They did impress early on with beautiful combinations of classic give-and-goes and long jumpers. But Curry kept coming, and Kevin Looney scrapped to create second and third opportunities to cap his brilliant series on the boards. Instead, the pair sent Kings fans to the exits late in the fourth.
Just before the final buzzer, Kerr offered a long embrace to Brown - Golden State's former top assistant who once coached the Warriors on the postseason stage during Kerr's extended health absence and just guided the Kings' remarkable turnaround.
All eyes will turn to game one of the second round on Tuesday night in San Francisco.
