Stephen Curry suffered a double whammy on Thursday, January 25, as he lost his starting spot in the All-Star game and the ball in the closing seconds of the Golden State Warriors‘ tough 134-133 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
For the first time in 10 years, Curry will not start in the midseason classic.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who dissed Curry after winning their earlier matchups, replaced him in the West backcourt. Perennial starter, Dallas Mavericks’ star Luka Doncic, took the other guard spot.
“You got two guys who are playing amazing this year — Luka and Shai,” Curry told reporters after the loss. “So, I’ve been around doing this for a very long time and the fact that it’s a talking point I’m not [a starter] after nine healthy years like those two guys are playing amazing. They deserve it and hopefully, I’ll be there in Indiana in whatever capacity but to still be doing it at this stage,
it’s always a challenge, you never take for granted the fact of how hard it is to be recognized in that way every year.”
Gilegous-Alexander ranked second overall (topping both media and player votes while finishing 3rd among fans) among all West guards while Curry finished third overall (2nd in fan votes behind Doncic but 4th in media and 3rd in player votes).
Stephen Curry’s Late Turnover Doomed Warriors
The Warriors had a chance to beat the Kings after Kevin Huerter missed two free throws with 15 seconds left. Curry and the Warriors opted not to call a timeout to avoid the Kings setting up their defense in the final play.
Still, Curry turned the ball over as Huerter and De’Aaron Fox double-teamed him in the upper corner as time expired.
In hindsight, Curry thought should have called a timeout.
“The chaos of the moment you’re trying to make a play,” he told reporters, “sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Curry had 33 points on 6 3-pointers while the rising Jonathan Kuminga added a career-high 31 points. Still, they were not enough to beat their northern California rivals.
The loss dropped the Warriors’ record to 19-23, which factored in his low turnout of votes among the media members.
Former Warriors Player Haunted Them Back
Former Warriors forward Harrison Barnes came back to haunt them with a season-high 39 points while Fox added 29.
“[Barnes] had a hell of a night from the jump,” Curry said.
The Kings forward had 11 points in the opening quarter with the Kings seizing a 40-32 lead.
Barnes was part of the first of four Warriors’ title runs over the last decade. Following their 3-1 series meltdown against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, the Warriors did not re-sign Barnes and brought in Kevin Durant as his replacement.
On Barnes’ best shooting night this season, the Warriors watched the Kings beat them at their own game.
Barnes knocked down 7 3s to pace Sacramento which hit 22 of 48 from deep.
“Teams or for whatever reason, they’re shooting great against us and [we] have to figure out a way to slow them down,” Curry said.
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Steph Curry Reacts to All-Star Starting 5 Snub After Warriors’ Tough Loss