Stephen Curry, Star Guard of the Golden State Warriors, put together a vintage performance on Saturday night, at which head coach Steve Kerr raved: “He’s never played better.”
It wasn’t enough to get past Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
Despite 57 points and 11 3-pointers from Curry, the visiting warriors 134-132 fell to the Mavs, who received 42 points and 11 assists from Doncic.
The defeat didn’t stop Kerr or even Doncic raving about Curry, who dominated the whole game, finishing 19:31 from the field and 11:19 from outside the arch in 37 minutes.
“Sublime,” said Kerr. “The shots he hit was ridiculous. The difficulty. The ease with which he took them. He’s never played better. We’re talking about a two-time MVP, a three-time champion – I’ve never seen it.” He looks like it. He just looks so strong to me.
“He’s obviously always been an incredible shooter, but he looks stronger to me, he just passes people, fends them off on drives to the edge and ends. And of course the shooting is almost unfathomable what he’s doing out there.”
Doncic put on a show of his own, walking 12:23 from the field and 7:12 from the depths of victory, but the young security guard was still impressed with the performance Curry put on as he hit shots from all over the ground.
“Every time he shot the ball I thought he was coming in,” Doncic said in a post-game interview with ESPN.
Curry, who overtook Reggie Miller as second on the list of 3-pointers two weeks ago, continues to collect shooting numbers. Saturday’s performance marked the 40th time in Curry’s 12-year career that he had at least 40 points in a game and the eighth time that he had at least 50 points. It was also the 16th time Curry got 10 or more 3 points in a competition.
After knocking down a 3-pointer, who was near the Mavericks logo in midfield in the first half, Curry broke out his famous shimmy, a celebratory move that marked some of the greatest moments of his career. He added five assists, two rebounds, and two steals in one night as the Mavericks repeatedly tossed additional defenders on his path to try to slow his swing.
When asked about Kerr’s assessment that he played the best basketball of his career, Curry reiterated that he felt his body was in a great place as he was dealing with more defenders every night. He said he believed he could handle the extra bodies that came his way this season.
“I feel strong,” said Curry. “I feel like I have a good rhythm. And of course I enjoy being out there and being healthy again after last year. So I’m definitely in control of my game and learning with my team while we play it keep trying.” and get better and build some momentum this season. It’s been a strange year. I play well and we get better as a team. We just have to stack those victories and then we can all feel a little bit better about ourselves. “
Curry’s goal break comes just over a month after hitting a career high of 62 points in a home win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 3.
“I don’t know if it’s harder to play basketball right now than Steph Curry,” said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, “because of the different game effects and his uncanny ability to take shots from anywhere.” It’s easy to get discouraged when a guy gets 30 foot shots in your face and all that stuff, and our guys just hung out and figured out a way to win it. “
The guardian of the warriors, Kent Bazemore, praised Curry on 57 points.
“Best basketball player right now,” said Bazemore. “It’s unreal. Brad Wanamaker and I were on the bench just wondering how happy we are to see this, and then two of how effortless it is.
“When you’re in the heat and a guy has no conscience, just pull out of 40 feet, it’s amazing. It’s amazing. You have to be there.”
Curry has long said that he feels like every shot he takes goes in; But on nights like this when most of his shots are actually fired, he knows that it is difficult for any team to stop him.
“It feels great,” said Curry, “especially when there were some hard looks depending on when the defense was watching you. But for the most part, I could see where the help was coming from – and where it was from.” Screens came from – and come to my posts. So that’s always a good feeling when you feel like you are in a rhythm and just need a clean look and things are about to fall. But you can also stay aggressive and don’t let this rhythm get you out of the way.
“So it was that kind of night – and obviously wanted to win. It’s mixed feelings right now.”
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon contributed to this report
