Getty Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry reacts from the bench during his team's Game 7 win over the Sacramento Kings.
With their team heading into a closeout situation against the Sacramento Kings on Friday, Golden State Warriors fans were banking on “Game 6 Klay” to lead the Dubs to a series-clinching victory. Instead, Golden State logged one of its poorest efforts of the season, getting blown out at Chase Center and being forced into a difficult Game 7 situation on the road.
Looking back, fans should probably be thanking the basketball gods for vexing Steve Kerr‘s squad that night; if the Warriors had won the game, we would have been robbed of one of the greatest Game 7 performances in NBA history on Sunday, courtesy of one Wardell Stephen Curry.
With their season on the line in Sacto, Curry paced the Warriors with a whopping 50 points on 20-of-38 shooting en route to a 120-100 win. Meanwhile, he made seven three-point shots and further contributed eight rebounds, six assists (with only one turnover) and a steal across 38 minutes of action.
In the wake of the big W — during which Curry established a new all-time record for points scored in a Game 7 — the Warriors’ cornerstone was shouted out by a veritable who’s-who of the Association.
Steph Curry’s 50-Point Bomb vs Kings Raises Eyebrows Around the NBA
Although Curry has turned the utterly amazing into a nightly expectation, the four-time champ’s Herculean hardwood feats still manage to rile the masses each and every time they happen. But it’s not just Joe Average who’s taken aback by his exploits, the best ballers in the game are wowed by them as well.
Following his 50-piece, players league-wide were prompted to hit the tweet machine and pay homage to Steph.
“Legendary 30. 50 pieces,” wrote ex-Warrior and current Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant.
“Unreal Performance. Steph Different,” opined Atlanta Hawks cornerstone Trae Young, who has famously modeled his game after Curry.
“Steph Curry you filthy animal lol… he just packed up a very good team … in a very tough building,” opined another legendary flamethrower in the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard.
“Chef Curry a bad man!!” exclaimed Chicago Bulls wing and six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan.
“Steph is insaneeeee,” tweeted Washington Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Warriors Coach Steve Kerr Makes a Point of Acknowledging Mike Brown & the Kings
While there was a lot to write home about for the Warriors amid their series victory over the Kings, Coach Kerr made a point not to get into any of it during his postgame media availability until he had properly recognized former gold-and-blew crew assistant Mike Brown and his team.
“I want to say congrats to Sacramento, to Mike and his staff and his team — they were incredible. [They] had an amazing season and this was a fantastic series. I mean, just great basketball for seven games,” Kerr said.
“They’ve had, frankly, a much better season than we have. We’ve been kind of up and down all year, as you know, and they put together a whole season where they just… the young talent, the coaching… it’s just impressive to watch and really difficult to play against. So, congrats to the Kings — we are thrilled to move on.”