Vintage Stephen Curry silencers doubters and leaves Spurs shocked

After an utterly disappointing loss in Oklahoma City that elicited some controversial post-game comments, it was more of the same struggles for the Golden State Warriors early against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center.

The Warriors had just 14 first-quarter points and trailed by as much as 16 in the second, only for Stephen Curry and his veteran teammates to emerge from the fire and deliver an extraordinary second-half performance that culminated in a massive 125-120 victory.

Stephen Curry burst to life with 46 points against the Spurs

Curry had been struggling over recent games due to an illness that also caused him to miss three-straight games, but the 2x MVP exploded with a vintage 22-point third-quarter that left the Spurs shocked and unable to recover.

Golden State outscored San Antonio 43-28 to flip the momentum in the third, with their offensive surge rather stunning when you consider they've been so lifeless over recent games and early on Wednesday's second night of a back-to-back.

San Antonio mounted countless efforts in the fourth but never regained the lead. Curry finished with a new season-high 46 points on 13-of-25 shooting from the floor and 15-of-16 from the free-throw line, while also adding five rebounds and five assists in a major early season win.

Curry wasn't the only veteran to quickly silence some doubters following Tuesday's loss, with Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green also responding from underwhelming performances 24 hours earlier. Butler drilled five threes in seven attempts while also adding nine made free-throws, finishing with 28 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals in just under 34 minutes.

Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, but Green actually drew plaudits for his defensive performance as the French phenom was consistently forced into tough jump-shots.

Green started at center as the Warriors made two significant changes to their starting lineup, having inserted Moses Moody and Will Richard in place of Jonathan Kuminga and Quinten Post. Kuminga went scoreless in 12 first-half minutes, before exiting the game at half due to knee soreness.

Moody was important in providing some form of offense in the first-half, burying four threes and five for the game as he finished with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists in just over 26 minutes. Gary Payton II also returned to the rotation and delivered some major plays down the stretch, finishing with four points, six rebounds (four offensive) and two assists in nearly 15 minutes.

The Warriors not only come away with a big win, but also with some much needed offensive rhythm after entering 21st on that end to start the season. They'll face the Spurs again on Friday in their second NBA Cup game, having now moved back to 7-6 on the season.