Golden State Warriors: Recapping Curry’s record breaking night
It was one of those moments that will undoubtedly live throughout the storied history of the NBA. When Stephen Curry rose from 3-point range with 7:33 to play in the opening period, the Golden State Warriors saw the ball sail through the cotton for the 2,974th time.
What followed was a deserved celebration for the greatest shooter of all time. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau appropriately called a timeout, allowing Curry to embrace firstly his teammates and coaches, then his father Dell, and finally Ray Allen, the man whom he overtook for the most three-pointers in NBA history.
Stephen Curry finally did what we have all been expecting him to do. The Golden State Warriors’ golden boy is now the all-time 3-point leader.
Following the stoppage, the game itself almost felt like a letdown, such was the enormity of the moment. Perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that, outside Curry making two of his first three triples, the game certainly wasn’t a showcase of the offensive beauty of NBA basketball.
The Golden State Warriors looked like a team who’d just arrived in New York that day, having had their flight delayed following Monday night’s win in Indiana. The New York Knicks, missing a few players through covid protocols, failed to take advantage of the Warriors’ offensive struggles. Perhaps that’s being unkind to the number one defense in the league, and the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year, Draymond Green, who did a lockdown job on Julius Randle in the first half.
The start of the third quarter resembled more of a soccer match than a basketball one, the two teams combining for a grand total of one point across the first three and a half minutes. After Curry’s record-breaking three had given the Warriors a 12-10 lead, they trailed for the entirety of the next two quarters.
It wasn’t till the latter stages of the third that the Warriors began to find some productive offense or at least a more fruitful one than the Knicks could manufacture. After the game was tied at 59 apiece with four minutes to play, the Dubs finished the quarter on a 12-5 run to take a seven-point lead into the final 12 minutes.
Despite the Knicks’ best attempts, they never got within four during the remainder of the game. In contrast to the previous night’s game against the Pacers, in which the Warriors won the fourth 22-16, both teams found their best offense in the closing minutes.
When Andrew Wiggins’ second three extended the lead to 12 with just over two minutes remaining, the Warriors’ 23rd win was all but in the books. It was only appropriate that Curry led Golden State with 22 points. Poole added 19 and Wiggins 18 in another team performance. The 105-96 win means they remain half a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns in the western conference.