Not to be forgotten in a disappointing loss, is the 25 solid minutes provided by the young Brazilian, who went 7/9 from the field for 14 points, while also grabbing 4 boards and dropping 3 dimes. The anticipation at the arena builds several hours before tipoff, as fans crowd around the court to watch Curry go through his warmup routine, and then mob him in the tunnel for autographs, which the reigning Most Valuable Player is gracious enough to spend a few minutes signing.
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Stephen Curry made nine 3-pointers and scored 44 points, leading the undefeated Golden State Warriors to a 112-109 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
Coming off consecutive 40-point games, Curry was having a relatively quiet and even puzzling night – he missed his first three free throws – before helping the Warriors regain control against a team that almost beat them earlier this season and looked capable of finishing the job this time.
“It’s really hard to do in the moment”, Stephen Curry said, when asked about whether he’s taken a step back to appreciate the streak so far. After a missed three by Bojan Bogdanovic, Curry lobbed an alley-oop from three-point territory to Festus Ezeli, who slammed it down for an 81-78 lead.
“That’s what great players can do. Thankfully I made one more play”, Curry said of Lowry.
With a career high of 41 against the Warriors last night, you can bank on this guy being in the 10-man MVP race talked about every week. Two nights ago when they were in Charlotte he had 43. “Whether it’s my shot or trying to get other guys involved or use my ball-handling”.
Thompson added 26 points for the Warriors, while Green had 16 points and nine rebounds. While it seems like it could go on like this forever, there will surely come a night where Curry can’t find the spark, or Draymond Green is in foul trouble, or some other mundane detail that gets left unattended, and leaves the Warriors with their first loss.
“They were a tough test early”, Green said of the Nets.
The Warriors equaled another National Basketball Association record, tying the 1969-70 New York Knicks for the best road start at 12-0.
Thaddeus Young led the Nets with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Brook Lopez finished with 18 points and eight boards, and Jarrett Jack tallied 11 points and five assists.
“They struggled in Toronto as a group”, interim coach Luke Walton, speaking to reporters in Toronto, said of the bench mob, “but then they come out tonight and take the momentum we built in the third quarter and just run with it in the fourth”.
This time, Golden State bolted to a 9-0 lead and the only reason its 30-16 advantage after one wasn’t bigger was because the Warriors were just 5 for 14 at the free throw line – with Curry missing all three. Mike Conley had 12 points and Mario Chalmers finished with 11. It marked his third 20-point game of the season.
“We have to understand it’s the best team in the league and we had them down to the last possession of both games”, DeRozan said. The Nets’ last longer one was seven games in February and March 2011…. Brooklyn rookie G Rondae Hollis-Jefferson did not play due to a sprained right ankle he sustained during practice on Saturday. Bojan Bogdanovic took his place in the starting lineup.
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images Curry and his Warriors move to 22-0 this season with a win in Brooklyn Sunday.
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“We play at a fast pace, ” Walton said.
