Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The most surprising — and telling — statistic on a day Stephen Curry set his career high in points may have been his assist total: just four, padding the total late. The prettiest resulted from three Trail Blazers swarming him feet behind the arc in the first half, Curry taking a step in and out, seeking any angle, before he happened to spot a streaking James Wiseman releasing from a pick and rolling to the hoop. Curry led him beautifully and a dunk followed.
It was both ideal and rare. So often in this young season Curry has had to dish off, his gravity pulling defenses toward him, and his supporting cast lacking any gravitas. But it was the only time in the first 24 minutes Curry deferred, Curry in slashing mode and beginning to remind the NBA world he is nearly unparalleled in finishing.
Steph Curry with the first 40 point game in Chase Center history. Still have over a quarter left… pic.twitter.com/WywERkBNNV
— KNBR (@KNBR) January 4, 2021
The Warriors, too, were able to finish in a 137-122 victory over the Trail Blazers, the same team to whom they had lost by 25 on Friday. But Golden State neutralized everyone not named Damian Lillard (32 points) and CJ McCollum (28 points), and they outrebounded Portland 53-40 to get up to .500.
The biggest difference between the Warriors getting smoked and the Warriors escaping was Curry, who had 31 points in the first half. He had scored more than 31 points in one game this season.
He finished with 62, a Chase Center record that he owned with a quarter still to play. He dipped and dived and split the defense and created space with pivots. His handle is a thing of beauty. As is his intelligence, essentially turning a Draymond Green airball into an assist, Curry laying it up with an and-one.
His knifing through the Portland defense led to 19 free-throw tries, 18 made. He did not rely upon his 3-point shot, but of course he had that in his arsenal (8-for-16).
That’s 5️⃣0️⃣ points on 27 shots for Stephen Curry ? pic.twitter.com/jIQakttlcp
— KNBR (@KNBR) January 4, 2021
Curry had just three 3s at the half, not doing the launching that reinvented how basketball is played. He was just quicker, faster, better in each drive. Curry has too often been cloaked by opposing defenses this season, unable to free himself up without Klay Thompson to draw defenders. Sunday he did not wait for the game to come to him, instead taking it from the onset.
The Warriors (3-3) watched a 20-point lead get whittled down to seven in the fourth, but Curry, with some help from Andrew Wiggins (19 points) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (17), made sure the brilliance would not be wasted. He tossed in a couple deep 3s to smash his previous record of 54 points and can beat teams in so many ways.
STEPHEN CURRY HAS 62 POINTS pic.twitter.com/oxCUmCpI5t
— KNBR (@KNBR) January 4, 2021
More takeaways from the victory over the Blazers:
Wise man
There weren’t the spectacular, rim-to-rim runs that showed rare athleticism that feels impossibly stored in a 7-footer. What there were were plenty of dunks, which works well.
Wiseman played within the flow of the offense, capitalizing whenever the Warriors worked the ball and lost a defender in the process. Essentially playing the JaVale McGee role, the 19-year-old posted a solid 12 points on just nine shots with 11 rebounds, hooking up with Curry and Draymond Green as the Warriors look far more fluid offensively.
He showed flashes of being a teenager with so little experience, an early goaltend that probably could have been laid off, saving a ball from out of bounds on his own end that immediately prompted a Robert Covington 3. But what the Warriors asked for they got, and Wiseman came through.
Draymond making his point
He finished with as many technicals (one) as points.
And Draymond Green also led the game in plus/minus (plus-22).
When the offense runs through Green, whose unselfish, move-the-ball mentality makes him nearly as integral to the offense as Curry, the Warriors get good shots. Green, playing in his second game of the season, did not show off his range but did not need to. He set screens, worked within the offense and looked for Curry every time he could. It is not a coincidence that Curry exploded when Green returned.
Oubrey watch
The Klay Thompson replacement does a lot of nice things. But the Klay Thompson replacement still cannot shoot.
He has opened his Warriors tenure 2-for-30 from deep, adding a 1-for-5 ledger Sunday. He turned down a few more launches and is lacking both makes and confidence that would come with makes.
No Smiles
Alen Smailagic is set to undergo surgery on a torn meniscus and miss a few weeks, but even prior to the blow, the 20-year-old forward/center was not seeing the court.
He hasn’t appeared in a game this season, and the Warriors realize his development is only being further hampered.
“I feel so bad for Smiley,” Steve Kerr said before the game. “He’s been a victim like all the young players of the pandemic in terms of not getting the work that he needs and now getting injured and not being healthy as the season gets going. It’s really a shame. We’ve got to get him some playing time, some action. And we’ll see what that means going forward.”