There are nights when guys get hot, and there are nights where guys are simply on fire.
Stephen Curry gave us an exciting taste of the latter on Wednesday, pouring in a career-high 54 points while absolutely shooting the lights out, knocking down 11 of his 13 attempts from three-point distance.
Curry’s amazing performance wasn’t enough to give his Warriors the win; it was only enough to give them a fighting chance. Behind 35 points from Carmelo Anthony and 26 from J.R. Smith, the Knicks held on for the 109-105 victory.
It was the Warriors’ second straight loss, and even though they both came on the road against two of the top teams in the East, they won’t be any easier for Curry to swallow. He scored 38 in the loss to Indiana on Tuesday, giving him 92 points combined in the back-to-back set.
Golden State was playing without David Lee in this one, who was serving a one-game suspension for his role in the altercation that involved several players from both teams in Tuesday’s loss to the Pacers. As a result, the Warriors had zero presence in the paint, which led to a ridiculous 28-rebound night for Tyson Chandler inside.
That left the responsibility on Curry’s shoulders, and he delivered in a way we haven’t seen in some time.
The 54 points were the most scored by an opponent in Madison Square Garden since 2009, when Kobe Bryant and LeBron James scored 62 and 52 respectively in consecutive games there. Curry’s total is also now the high score in a single game by any player this season, surpassing the 52 points that Kevin Durant scored on Jan. 18 in Dallas.
Curry started things off with just four points in the first quarter, but really got rolling in the second, where he put up 23 points on 7-10 shooting, including 4-5 from beyond the three-point arc.
He notched 11 more points in the third on 4-5 shooting overall, while hitting all three of his three-point shots in the period. And in the fourth, Curry dropped in 16 more on 5-7 shooting, and made all four of his three-point attempts.
Curry finished 18-28 from the field, and added seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals, while playing the entire game — all 48 minutes.
His night wasn’t perfect, however, as he made a couple of critical mistakes late that helped the Knicks come away with the victory. The first came with 3:13 remaining and the Warriors clinging to a one-point lead, when Curry left his feet and turned the ball over while attempting to make a difficult cross-court pass that was picked off by Iman Shumpert. The ensuing possession resulted in a three-pointer from Anthony that gave the Knicks the lead.
And then, with 1:28 remaining and the game all tied at 105, Curry forced a shot attempt while facing one-on-one defensive coverage from Raymond Felton. Felton played Curry perfectly, and ended up blocking his jumpshot a good 20 feet from the basket. Curry did not attempt a shot the rest of the game.
It was a solid win for the Knicks, who overcame Curry’s otherworldly performance with a more balanced team effort offensively, and a dominant performance on the offensive glass. New York had 27 second-chance points to just two for the Warriors, and those offensive rebounds late in the game, especially in the last three minutes, were ultimately the difference.
