Getty Steph Curry reacts to a play in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Steph Curry’s biggest assist in the Golden State Warriors‘ loss to the Dallas Mavericks may have come before the game even started.
A video that hit social media late this week showed the Warriors star deftly deflecting a basketball that was headed straight toward an elderly woman walking near the sidelines. The clip has earned some viral attention for Curry, who could use the good news as he is stuck in midst of one of the worst shooting slumps of his career.
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Curry’s Big Save
Curry’s save came before Wednesday’s loss to the Mavericks, with the clip finding its way to Bleacher Report’s Twitter feed on Friday morning. The video showed Curry warming up on the court with teammates when an errant ball bounced high and headed straight toward an elderly woman walking along the sideline. Still turned away from the ball, Curry lunged to tip it just away from the woman’s head.
.@StephenCurry30 is a man of the people 🤝
(via jr_cardshop/IG)
Curry had a smooth transition after preventing what could have been a very painful situation. He took the ball after it deflected toward the crowd and served up a volleyball spike back to his teammates, then continued with his warmups.
Curry’s good luck didn’t extend into the game itself. He had one of the worst shooting nights of the season, making just 1-of-9 from three-point range and 5-for-24 overall.
After the game, Curry’s coach explained that teams have been going all-out to stop him.
“Everyone’s throwing everything at him,” coach Steve Kerr said after the game, via ESPN. “Their best defender. Their double teams. They’re trying to make it as difficult as possible. I thought tonight he pressed a little bit. He’s trying hard to get out of it.”
Some big help could be on the way, however. Klay Thompson is expected to make his Warriors debut on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Curry Gets Love from Fans
While the rim hasn’t been too kind to Curry in recent games, fans are still showing their appreciation for what he’s done this season. On the NBA’s first reporting of fan voting for the All-Star Game, Curry was at the top of the list with more than 2.5 million votes. The next closest was Brooklyn Nets star and former Warriors teammate Kevin Durant with 2.36 million, followed by Giannis Antetokounmpo with 2.1 million and LeBron James with 2 million.
Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant lead the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively, in the first fan returns of NBA All-Star Voting presented by Tissot.
The next NBA All-Star fan voting update will be shared Thursday, Jan. 13.
While Curry appears to be well on pace to make his eighth All-Star roster, he has fallen off in his quest for a third league MVP award. Curry was once seen as the frontrunner, but his extended shooting slump caused him to fall to fifth place in NBA.com’s Race to the MVP Ladder. As the report noted, Curry still has time to climb back up the rankings if he can turn around his shooting woes.
“For the Steph superfans, please know that his fall to fifth in this week’s Kia Race to the MVP Ladder doesn’t automatically knock him out of the running for the award. He’s very much in the mix,” the report noted. “The problem is Curry is fighting through a significant slump (by his standards), not to mention a bruised quadriceps that sidelined him for Thursday’s loss at New Orleans.”
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