SACRAMENTO — When Stephen Curry is in the zone, there’s very few, if any, who can snap him out of it.
“You can tell when he’s locked in and he’s laser focused,” Draymond Green said Sunday. “There’s not many defenses in the world that can stop him.”
The Sacramento Kings were the latest victims of Curry’s wrath.
Curry put on one of his greatest playoff performances to date to carry the Warriors to a series-clinching win and set an NBA record in the process.
Curry poured in 50 points, the most scored in a Game 7 in NBA history, and made seven 3-pointers to help his team win 120-100 and advance for a highly-anticipated Western Conference semifinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“This is a Game 7 I’ll forever remember as the Steph Curry game,” Klay Thompson said.
Green needed only two words to describe Curry’s performance: “Total dominance.”
“Those are the moments, as a basketball fan, you can appreciate. As a teammate, that’s the guy you want to go to war with,” Green continued. “The way he performed, he left no doubt and I think that’s a beautiful thing in Game 7.”
The Kings had outplayed the Warriors for most of the first half, taking a two-point lead into the break, and were looking to win their first playoff series since 2004.
But Curry and the crew had other plans.
The Warriors went on an inspired third-quarter run before sealing the win for good in the fourth.
At one point in the fourth, Curry celebrated his shot-clock-beating 3 that put his team up 22 by turning around and high-fiving Andre Iguodala, who’s still recovering from wrist surgery. Later on, before heading to the huddle for a timeout, Curry yelled the Kings’ rallying cry, “Light the beam!” as he pantomimed the Kings’ new tradition after home wins.
“It’s just the playoffs,” said Curry, who also acknowledged the Northern California connection of this first-round matchup. “There’s so much built into a series, especially when you go to seven games.”
The Warriors might’ve had only 36 hours to regroup after the Kings handed it to them at Chase Center to force a Game 7.
They have been in a Game 7 situation only four times before. Though they’re four-time champions, with 28 playoff series under their belts, they’re not immune to the anxiety and nerves that simmer inside heading into a winner-takes-all situation.
“They’re rare,” Draymond Green said of Game 7s. “When you have rare situations, rare players do rare things.”
Curry exemplified that Sunday afternoon.
From the moment the Warriors’ won the tip, their pre-game jitters took a back seat, and the Warriors playoff experience and championship DNA took over. Even as some of the Warriors struggled to get going on offense, Curry never let up. He had 20 points by halftime.
The Warriors went on a tear in the third, with Curry and Kevon Looney playing a big part in that. They outscored the Kings 35-23 and dominated the offensive glass, pulling down 13 offensive boards to the Kings’ three.
Looney corralled seven of his 10 offensive boards in the third quarter and finished the day with 21 total rebounds. He also had 11 points, making this his fourth career playoff double-double.
But while Looney’s aggressive rebounding and defense was key in Sunday’s win, this was Curry’s show.
Curry’s 50-point game, a new playoff career high for the Warriors superstar, will be one to remember, even for his longtime teammates like Thompson.
“It’s the best, especially when you have an off night yourself,” said Thompson, who had 16 points on 4 of 19 shooting. “There’s a reason he’s a two-time MVP, Finals MVP, because he pushes us over the top in moments like this. And when he’s in the zone like that you try to get him in his spots, get him the ball, get out of the way. Gosh, what an incredible performance.”
Wearing a black “Trophy Hunting” hoodie and a cap that had “Winner’s Lifestyle” emblazoned on the back to his postgame press conference, Curry said he enjoys talking a little more smack now than he did earlier in his career.
“The more that you’re in this fight, the more that you embrace that part of it just because you’re defying the odds by still playing at this high of a level,” Curry said. “I know everybody wants to see you fail, that’s kind of the nature of where we’re at right now. So we love we can still prove a lot of people wrong. It’s part of our vibe now.”
So what does Curry think? Can anyone stop the 35-year-old?
“Hopefully, we never find out,” Curry said with a smile.
