Stephen Curry‘s personal shooting coach and passing man, Bruce Fraser, offered some pre-game thoughts that worked wonders to get the reigning scoring champion right back in rhythm.
“We kind of talked about certain preparations into my shot, just certain mechanics that he called it even having a little bit more conviction about when it’s time to shoot,” Curry said. “Just a little seed he planted. I took that into warm-ups and the rest of the game. He was very timely with those words of wisdom.”
Curry scored an NBA season-high 50 points with nine three-pointers, 10 assists and seven rebounds, almost single-handedly leading the Golden State Warriors past the Atlanta Hawks 127-113.
Oh, yes, Curry sure wanted that 50-spot. And if he wasn’t counting, his teammates were committed to getting him there.
“It’s always nice,” he said. “You never come out with like a certain number in mind. It’s just when you get it going, you just keep going.”
Only Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry had registered a game with 50 points and 10 assists in Warriors franchise history.
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“When he gets going like that, it’s a special day,” teammate and brother-in-law Damion Lee said.
Curry dominated for long stretches and danced in delight, repeatedly raising his arms in the air to encourage everyone fortunate enough to witness another of his brilliant performances.
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He scored Golden State’s first 13 points, then 10 straight down the stretch in the third before dishing off for Juan Toscano-Anderson’s three-pointer that made it 102-85 following the Warriors’ spectacular, 41-point quarter.
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“That was just a stunning performance by Steph,” coach Steve Kerr said. “… He was amazing. I want to say I’ve never seen anything like it but I’ve been watching it for seven years, so I have seen something like it and still it’s just incredible to watch.”
Playing to chants of “MVP! MVP!,” Curry gave fans a scare with 8:48 left in the first when he jammed his left shoulder. He was examined by the medical staff during a Hawks timeout and could be seen nodding and moving his arms to shake out the shoulder before drawing cheers when he stayed in the game.
Curry notched his 10th career 50-point game and already had 24 points on seven-for-12 shooting by halftime with five three-pointers.
“It doesn’t get old, for sure,” Kerr said.
Curry wound up 14 for 28 from the floor and made all 13 of his free throws as the Warriors won their fifth straight. They are holding opponents to 95.8 points during the unbeaten stretch.
“The fact that Steph got that many open looks was crazy,” Hawks star Trae Young said. “He is the best shooter of all time.”