Steph Curry wrangled the Point God title out of Chris Paul’s hands last season, but CP3 was up to the task when the two superstar point guards squared off on Wednesday evening.
Paul scored a sensational 20 points in the first half on an incredible 7-of-9 shooting from the field. He displayed sublime decision making in the pick and roll during those first 24 minutes by manipulating any Warrior big when he turned the corner, taking full advantage of space in the mid-range area. However, Paul’s aggressive nature didn’t carry over to the second half where he picked up his fourth foul early in the third and didn’t score again until late in the fourth. He would only finish with 24 points on the night after a spectacular opening 24 minutes. The second half belonged to one Wardell Stephen Curry.
Curry sat most of the first quarter with early foul trouble. He presumably spent that time on the bench loading his three-point cannon for the imminent fourth quarter explosion. It’s been said time and time again, but there has never been anything in the NBA remotely close to Steph Curry. He maintained his league-leading scoring average by dropping 31 points on 7-11 from beyond the arc. How Curry scored those threes was even more remarkable. He missed a few wide open looks in the first half, but made up for that brief glitch by knocking down several off-the-dribble threes down the stretch.
Paul excels in the pick and roll by taking the space between his trailing defender and the helping big man to knock down a mid-range shot; conversely, Steph excels by inducing existential dread in the helping big man with lethal shooting that forces them to defend a lot further than their comfort zone. DeAndre Jordan was left gasping for air several times when he failed to press Curry after he danced around the screen. If Jordan pressures Curry, he leaves a possible driving angle or a 4-on-3 opportunity behind him. If Jordan sags back, Curry hits the three. It’s an unfair predicament placed upon Jordan, but such is the burden of Steph.
The Curry-Paul dynamic remains as the most interesting subplot in the vaunted Clippers-Warriors rivalry. Here’s hoping for another playoff series — they faced off in a seven-game epic during the first round of the 2014 Playoffs — between the two next spring.
