Stephen Curry scored 57 points in 37 minutes last night… in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. This is something entirely new to the Golden State Warriors‘ superstar – who has grown accustomed to winning whenever he goes inferno mode on an opponent.
It’s extremely rare for Curry to explode offensively and still lose a game. In fact, he’s only been defeated twice in the last three years when he scores 40+ points. The correlation between each game? Klay Thompson did not suit up in any of them. I think we all remember his disappointing loss in the 2019 NBA Finals after scoring 47 – and the other loss came in the regular season against Philadelphia when Klay was once again sidelined.
Since his first championship season, Curry has won 35-of-38 games in which he poured in over 40 points. The Warriors just didn’t lose if Curry was on that night. In the 2015-16 NBA season, his unanimous MVP year, Curry led the Dubs to a perfect 13-0 record when he scored 40 or more.
He’s even better when he scores 50, not losing one of these games for nearly 10 years before Saturday in Dallas. The last instance before that came in 2012 when he lit up Madison Square Garden for 54 points in the breakout game that made him a star.
Stephen Curry has been on fire for the Golden State Warriors, but it hasn’t stopped them from dropping games.
There’s something special about the way Curry’s hot-streaks impact a game. Few others can determine the outcome of a match simply by scoring the ball at an absurd rate. There’s nothing more entertaining than watching a flurry of defenders desperately attempt to trap Curry – only for him to score anyways.
It’s a testament not only to his deep shooting (he pulled up from half-court last night) but his elite ball-handling and threat as a passer. Opponents simply don’t know what to do when Curry is on fire. And, what can you expect from a defense when the guy is capable of shooting from anywhere on the floor?
In year’s prior, having Curry heat up was a death sentence for opposing teams. Now, it’s (kinda?) manageable. After all, there’s no Klay Thompson waiting there to rip your heart out if you double-team Curry. Instead, it’s far less reliable shooters like Kelly Oubre, Andrew Wiggins and Damion Lee on the perimeter.
This makes it easier for defenses to overload on Curry and force him to give the ball up. This doesn’t always work, as he’s a master of moving off-ball and relocating. However, his old tricks aren’t as useful anymore and teams know that once Draymond Green gets the ball, something for Curry is likely in the works.
In Curry’s first few seasons, before Thompson became an All-Star guard, scoring big numbers didn’t correlate to winning for the Warriors. The Dubs were just 1-4 from 2012-2014 when Curry scored 40+ points. While maturity has helped Curry learn how to accomplish both (scoring and winning) there is reason to be concerned that his impact as a scorer has been diminished this season due to a lack of a supporting cast.
The reality is, Curry can’t go supernova as often as he would like anymore. Not only is he playing with more defensive attention than ever before – but most of his teammates are inexperienced and therefore aren’t capable of setting him up as beautifully as the ones from the past.
This doesn’t mean Curry’s scoring is useless. Far from it. The Warriors are just 2-5 when he doesn’t score 25+ points this season. Yet, until Thompson returns, Curry will be in unfamiliar territory where his big-nights are prone to being spoiled.