Stephen Curry missed his first game of the 2021-2022 regular season on Friday, as he rested a hip injury. He was far from the only Golden State Warriors player to watch the game from the bench, as Draymond Green (thigh), Andre Iguodala (knee) and Otto Porter Jr. (foot) all missed the bout against the Detroit Pistons as well.
Still, thanks in large part to a game-high 32 points from Jordan Poole and 27 more from Andrew Wiggins, the severely undermanned Dubs were able to pull off a 105-102 win against the Pistons.
Although he wasn’t in action against Detroit, Curry still managed to pick up a clutch win on Friday night, but it didn’t come until after the game was over.
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another win happened after the buzzer for @StephenCurry30 😂
This wasn’t Steph’s first big rock, paper scissors victory in recent memory, as No. 30 took down “Splash Brother” teammate Klay Thompson in a best-of-three matchup in February 2020. The punishment for the loser was to introduce then-ex-teammate Andre Iguodala prior to his speech when “Iggy” returned back to the Bay Area for the first time with the Miami Heat.
Curry Overtakes Durant, Leading NBA MVP Chase
GettyKevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors following a game on February 13, 2021.
The NBA season is still young, but as of this weekend, Steph may be the frontrunner for the 2021-2022 MVP award. The two-time MVP is currently leading the league in scoring at 29.5 points per game, three-pointers made per game at 5.7 and three-point attempts per game at 13.5.
He’s also currently posting a career-high 6.1 rebounds along with 6.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
“Curry is one of the main reasons Golden State is the only team in the league to score at least 100 points in every game this season. The Warriors’ 15 straight 100-point games to start the season ranks as the longest streak for the squad since starting 2015-16 with 24-consecutive 100-point games, according to Elias Sports Bureau,” NBA.com senior writer Michael C. Wright wrote. “Defensively, Curry had logged at least one steal in seven consecutive games (including multiple steals in five of those contests). Curry dropped a cool 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night as part of a 36-8 closing run in Golden State’s 104-89 win over Cleveland.”
Who Else Are the Early MVP Contenders?
GettyStephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan and Joel Embiid high five fans during the NBA All-Star Game 2018 at Staples Center on February 18, 2018.
After spending last week at No. 2 on Wright’s KIA MVP Ladder, Curry has supplanted Kevin Durant at the top of the list. “KD” meanwhile, drops to second place.
Rounding out the top-five are reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls newcomer DeMar DeRozan and five-time All-Star Jimmy Butler. Among Wright’s “next five” are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Ja Morant, Chris Paul and Zach LaVine.
With no game on Saturday, expect Steph to be back in the lineup for the Dubs’ next game, which will be at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.
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