Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson ended their slumps in a big way
The NBA world was torn from its axis earlier this week when presumptive back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry had two poor shooting games in a row. A poor night against the stingy San Antonio Spurs on Saturday was perhaps not a total surprise, but Monday’s rough showing at the Minnesota Timberwolves was. Was Curry cooling off for the first time all season?
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The world’s best shooter ended any such speculation Wednesday night at Oracle Arena by getting back to his usual ways. Curry followed his combined 10-of-35 shooting (including 3-of-21 from deep) in the previous two games with a customarily terrific performance against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, scoring a game-high 33 points on 12-of-23 from the field and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. His return to form helped lead the Warriors to a relatively comfortable 114-98 win over their in-state rivals.
Curry was not alone in finding his shooting touch after a short struggle. Klay Thompson had his own troubles against the Spurs (7-of-20 FG and 1-of-7 3FG) and Wolves (5-of-5 3FG but 0-of-9 2FG), but he broke out against the Clippers in a big way. His 32 points on 12-of-21 FG and 7-of-10 3FG (with a game-best plus-23 in 36 minutes) combined with Curry’s offensive excellence to give Golden State its customary one-two punch.
Those star turns were clearly the biggest story of the contest, but the Warriors did not overwhelm the Clippers from jump to final buzzer. A tight first half finished in a 51-49 advantage for the Warriors at the break, and it looked as if the Warriors would have to grind out another win to improve their record to 64-7 overall and 33-0 at Oracle. Yet Golden State opened the third quarter with one its patented post-break runs, out-scoring L.A. 10-1 in the first 2:05 to build a strong double-digit lead. This long-range pass from Curry to Draymond Green proved that the Warriors were in fine form:
The margin never got higher than 16 over the rest of the contest, which speaks to the Clippers’ status as a very good team. On the other hand, they never got it closer than seven points and never appeared to threaten a serious comeback. Much like in last Wednesday’s game against the Spurs, the Clippers badly missed the creativity capabilities of the still-absent Blake Griffin against a top-tier contender. DeAndre Jordan was quite good inside with 19 points and 20 rebounds, but they lacked the requisite playmaking with Chris Paul (13 points on 4-of-16 FG) and J.J. Redick (4-of-13 FG) both having off-nights. The Clippers’ fifth loss in six games was understandable, but they can probably forget any hopes of rising above the No. 4 seed in the West.
The Warriors did not gain any ground on the victorious Spurs, but their four-game lead atop the conference looks quite secure with only 11 left to play. The biggest question now is if they can win nine of the final 11 to break the all-time wins record. With eight remaining at home and two matchups with the Spurs coming after the No. 1 seed is likely to be locked up, it looks smart to bet on history.
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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!
