Steph Curry puts up 62 points
After reaching the National Basketball Association final for five straight seasons, the Golden State Warriors struggled with a plethora of injuries last year resulting in them missing out on the playoffs altogether. They are looking to get back to winning ways in 2021 though, as they try to compete with the league’s elite in the difficult Western Conference.
However, the Warriors have gotten off to a slow start, sparking criticism from media and fans alike.
On Sunday though, superstar guard Steph Curry decided to take matters in his own hands against the Portland Trail Blazers. Curry broke his own career-high by putting up 62 points in an astounding performance.
“I don’t get frazzled too easily and am very confident in who I am as a person,” Curry said during the postgame press conference, via ESPN. “As a basketball player, there’s not going to be anything you can say about me or to me that’s going to affect that. At the end of the day that’s how I got here, and I got a lot of people in my circle that understand what makes me tick, and how much I enjoy this game, and all the different challenges you get to experience having been around 12 years-plus. … I love everything about what this game offers and the competitiveness and the fire. I never run from it.”
Curry’s teammates could tell the veteran was fired up early for the game and let him take over.
“Just because of all the talk that’s been going around. To come out — I could see it from the very first possession,” said Golden State forward Draymond Green following the contest, via ESPN. “I told [Kevon Looney] early in the game, you keep screening and get in his way, he’s not passing. Something’s going on. He’s shooting the ball. It was great to see, though. He came out looking like a man on a mission. And that was right up there with one of his best performances that I’ve witnessed.”
Curry featured in just three home games last season, having broken his hand. The Warriors were not inside the NBA bubble in Florida this summer, finishing the campaign with the second-worst record in the league. Golden State took advantage of the poor season though, by drafting gifted center James Wiseman with the second overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft. The 19-year-old has started every game this season for the Warriors, averaging a respectable 11.7 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game.
The team is still without Klay Thompson though, who is expected to miss the duration of the season after having torn his Achilles in November. Thompson has not featured for Golden State since the 2019 NBA final against the Toronto Raptors.
The victory over Portland was Golden State’s third victory of the season, having started the campaign 2-3. Portland had just beaten the Warriors two days prior on Friday evening. Curry put up another 30 points on Monday evening against the Sacramento Kings, leading the Warriors to an 137-106 victory.
