Stephen Curry Went Off For 45 Points In A Thrilling 115-113 Win Over The Clippers

Despite the Warriors getting a win on opening night in L.A. over the Lakers, Stephen Curry said he played terribly. While he recorded a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, he was a very un-Steph-like 5-of-21 from the field to get there.

On Thursday night, the Warriors played host to the other L.A. squad in the Clippers and this time, Curry decided to shake off that bad night immediately, erupting for 25 points on 9-of-9 shooting in the first quarter to bring the Chase Center crowd to an early frenzy.

Curry’s barrage made it look like we were headed to a third straight blowout on Thursday night after the Hawks and Heat dominated the early window. However, in the second quarter Paul George came alive to pull the Clippers all the way back from 17 down to take a 67-66 lead into the halftime break with his own incredible individual scoring effort.

The second half saw both teams trade leads and go back and forth well into the fourth quarter, where, eventually, the Steph show proved to be just a bit more than the Clippers could handle. Down two with under two minutes to go, Curry got tired of being doubled and faceguarded and took matters into his own hands, rising and firing from way outside to give Golden State a one-point lead.

After an Eric Bledsoe layup pushed L.A. back in front, Curry came down and again fired from well beyond the arc, this time fading right on the wing to find nothing but the bottom of the net again.

The Warriors were able to get a stop on the next possession and, eventually, got the ball to Draymond Green for a layup to go up four with 11 seconds to play, but George wouldn’t go down without a fight, drilling a quick three to keep the Clippers attached.

After Curry hit a pair of free throws to go back up three, Ivica Zubac got fouled immediately off the long inbound from L.A., and executed his end of the bargain, making the first and missing the second at the line to give the Clippers a chance. But they could never corral the ball and the buzzer sounded to give the Warriors the honor of being the league’s first team to 2-0, with two impressive wins over the L.A. squads to open the season.

Curry finished with 45 points (16-of-25 shooting) and 10 rebounds, aided by a 17-point night from Andrew Wiggins, 11 bench points from Damion Lee, and 10 points, seven assists, and six rebounds from Draymond Green. On the other side, George had 29 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, with Eric Bledsoe chipping in 22 points in his re-debut for the Clippers, as all five starters hit double figures. It was an encouraging performance, first quarter aside, for their season opener, but they simply couldn’t withstand the Curry onslaught and the Warriors sit atop the West after their first week.