LOS ANGELES — The moment became prophetic as Warriors guard Stephen Curry offered empathy and support.
Curry met with a 13-year-old boy named Jaylen, who is experiencing the end stages of osteosarcoma cancer and wanted to meet his hero. Curry left Jaylen with these words, “hopefully we put on a great show for you.”
Curry then almost single handedly did that once again. In the Warriors’ 121-105 victory over the Clippers on Saturday, Curry posted 45 points by remaining efficient in all spots on the court (11-of-21 overall). He sank them from 3-point range (8-of-16). He stayed dependable on mid-range jumpers and drives to the basket. He posted a career-high at the foul line (15-of-16).
“You want to provide as much comfort and hope and entertainment for him and his family,” Curry said, “with how big of a supporters they are of us and what they’re going through.”
For nearly two hours on Saturday afternoon, Curry offered a temporary distraction. Just as it has been for most of his nine-year NBA career, most of Curry’s shots sailed into the basket. And it did not matter when and where Curry took those shots. As Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “When he gets going like that, he sparks the whole building.”
“Honestly, I always feel like I’m hot,” Curry said. “You step on the floor, if you don’t have that confidence, that’s not who I am. I’m out there playing. Every shot I take, you feel like it’s going in.”
It only took the first quarter for Curry to realize he would have a big night. Then, Curry posted 17 points while shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range. As Curry said, “When they went down, they started to get a rhythm.”
“You keep your head down and keep shooting and keep being aggressive,” Curry said. “That’s really it. There’s no thought process that this is could be a whatever type of night. Your shot is feeling better than other nights. You just play and have fun.”
There was nothing that could stop Curry from handing the Warriors (31-8) their fourth consecutive win.
Certainly no one on the Clippers (17-21) had any answers. They lost to the Warriors for the 12th consecutive time with an injury ravaged roster that featured All-Star forward Blake Griffin suffering a concussion in the first quarter after Warriors center JaVale McGee inadvertently elbowed him. The Warriors also won all of their games in Los Angeles in a season for the first time since the Clippers moved to L.A. in the 1984-85 season.
Instead, it was playing time. Longtime Clippers fan “Clipper Darrell” yelled out to Kerr with 1:58 left in the third quarter, “Can you take Curry out?” Kerr eventually did in the fourth only after Curry had demoralized the Clippers enough as the Warriors nursed a 103-76 lead. Though that prevented Curry from topping his career-high 54 point game that he set against New York on Feb. 27, 2013. Unlike some stars, Curry did not ask Kerr to put him back in the game.
“Steph’s not one of those guys to beg to come in and get 50 points,” Kerr said. “He gets it. He understands.”
The Warriors have become used to this by now with Curry posting 40-point performances in 28 games thus far. But Curry’s latest performance brought along three developments.
First, Curry showed he has not lost anything in his performance since missing 11 games with a sprained right ankle. In the four games since he has returned, Curry has averaged 36 points while shooting 65.6 percent from the field, 53.8 percent from 3-point range and 89.6 percent from the free-throw line.
“He’s been on fire,” Kerr said. “Maybe the break was good for him. He’s been amazing.”
Secondly, Curry gave the Warriors the perfect remedy for sluggish play possibly stemmed from enjoying the Los Angeles nightlife on Friday. Kerr said he tried to warn his players “but they were all gone by the time I could clear my throat.” A day later, Curry’s teammates went only 38.3 percent from the field, including Klay Thompson having a rare off night with 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. The Warriors only broke the game open by outscoring the Clippers, 39-21 in the third quarter. As Kerr summed up,
“Other than Steph’s performance, it was a pretty bad basketball game all around.”
“I needed it. You saw the way I was shooting. I was short, left, right and every which way,” Thompson said. “But I stuck with it. When you have a guy like Steph Curry that has on you know you can have a few off nights like that.”
Lastly, Curry lived up to his vow to make Jaylen’s day both with his presence and with his play. After putting on the show he wanted to deliver, Curry spoke again with Jaylen in hopes to provide more inspiration.
“Knowing he was in the building,” Curry said, “it’s special hearing his story the last couple of weeks.”
