Stephen Curry goes for 51, 26 in 3rd as Warriors come back vs. Mavs
It has been very hard to steal any thunder from Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry this season, but teammate and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson managed to do so when he set a new NBA record with 37 points in a single quarter. While Curry remains the MVP favorite and will receive a heap of attention at All-Star Weekend as the game’s leading vote-getter, Thompson pretty clearly notched the most amazing achievement by a Warriors guard this season. He deserves his share of the spotlight.
Curry didn’t knock Thompson off his perch in Wednesday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at Oracle Arena, but he at least matched his backcourt partner in one respect. Down 42-25 after a horrible first quarter that involved a 24-4 start for Dallas, Golden State bounced back with three very strong quarters to come away with a surprisingly comfortable 128-114 win.
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The most thrilling part of the game came in the third quarter, when the Warriors put up 43 points (against 36 for the Mavericks) to overcome a narrow halftime deficit and take control for good. Curry was magnificent, scoring 26 points in the period — extremely hot compared to anything other than Thompson’s magical quarter — on his way to a 51-point night, just three off his career high set at Madison Square Garden vs. the New York Knicks in February 2013. (His 26 points in the third were a single point short of his career-high for a quarter, set that same night.) He finished with 16-of-26 shooting overall, including 10-of-16 from beyond the arc. Take a look at his full highlights here:
Even head coach Steve Kerr couldn’t believe it (via SB Nation):
As noted by ESPN, it’s just the seventh time in NBA history that teammates have gone for 50 points in the same season. Thompson and Curry also made personal history on Wednesday with 14 combined three-pointers, breaking their previous high of 13.
Despite Curry’s huge night, the Warriors showed the kind of scoring balance that has helped them to a league-best 39-8 record. Golden State also shot 52.8 percent from the field and 19-of-38 from deep. Teams can focus on Curry if they like, but they’re risking letting another player go off for a huge game of his own.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
