Golden State Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry went off on Monday night, scoring an NBA-season high 50 points and adding 10 assists in Golden State’s 127-113 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
Curry, who collected 7 boards, went 14-for-28 from the field, 9-for-19 from 3-point range and 13-for-13 from the free throw line in the dominant performance that had the Warriors continuing their strong play to open the regular season. It was the 10th 50-point game of Curry’s career.
“That was just a stunning performance by Steph,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “… 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.”
“It’s kind of hard to say because obviously you made the first two and they were both in rhythm, the way the ball comes off your hand feels good,” Curry said. “You kind of just stay in the moment and every possession it starts to kind of build on the previous one. Maybe going into the half, the shot that got us within four, the way the game had gone, you carry that momentum into the locker room, come out in the third quarter, that’s when you kind of start to wait for the avalanche to fall — and it did.”
The 33-year old Curry became the third Warriors player in franchise history to put up a line of 50 points and 10 assists, alongside the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry.
“It doesn’t get old, for sure,” Kerr said of Curry. “I think one thing I hope people realize when they’re watching him do what he did tonight is how competitive he is. He rises to the occasion over and over again because he loves a challenge and tonight was a huge challenge, down 15 against a team that is really talented … you could see Steph’s competitiveness on full display along with his skill.”
“I think he’s in the best shape of his life,” Kerr said of Curry. “The last few years I think he’s elevated his strength and his conditioning. He’s a machine out there. He doesn’t get tired. He’s going full-bore on both ends and it’s amazing to watch him.”
