Stephen Curry scores 50 points to knock off kings in Game 7
SACRAMENTO — The Golden State Warriors prepared for the finals of their first-round playoff series with the Sacramento Kings by gathering Saturday for an off-day filming session in an upper floor of Chase Center, their home arena in San Francisco, featuring a panoramic view of the bay.
Coach Steve Kerr likes to hold his filming sessions there if space is available. Otherwise, he said, the team would be trapped “in the dungeon below,” outside the locker room. He was thankful for the open space, especially ahead of Sunday’s Game 7. It was a therapeutic experience.
“I think there has to be a sense of perspective,” Kerr said, “even if it’s just a nice view and some sunshine and a chance to breathe and relax between games. That can make all the difference.”
Something else can also make a difference: Stephen Curry. No one seemed more Zen on Sunday than Curry, who led the Warriors to a 120-100 victory by beating the Kings by every means imaginable on their way to 50 points – an NBA record for a Game 7. He sank parabolic three-pointers. He drove for layups. He played with defenders. And he sent dozens of Kings fans onto the streets of Sacramento before the game was over.
“Sublime,” Kerr said.
“Total domination,” said Warriors forward Draymond Green.
“A joy to watch,” said security guard Klay Thompson.
Curry, Thompson and Green have for years demolished opponents as one of the NBA’s most celebrated cores. The Kings, on the other hand, made their first postseason appearance since 2006. They had youth and energy. The Warriors have champion DNA.
“It was a great time putting it all together,” said Curry. “There are still nerves and fear and anticipation for a big night. But when we go out, our experience takes over.”
Curry, who arrived at the Golden 1 Center in an all-black ensemble as if dressed for a wake, shot 20 of 38 from the field and 7 of 18 from 3-point range. He also had eight rebounds and six assists.
“What an incredible all-time achievement,” said Thompson.
Golden State, the sixth seed in the Western Conference, will face the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in a conference semifinal, which begins Tuesday in San Francisco. The Lakers knocked out the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in their series in the first round on Friday.
“To do this for 10 years is incredible,” Kerr said of his core players. “The energy it takes to fight challengers year after year, and to prepare and win matches, and do it over and over again – there’s a reason these guys are Hall of Famers and champions.”
The Warriors and Kings franchises have long been located within 100 miles of each other, but for most of the past decade they have produced very different brands of basketball – opposite brands of basketball, in fact.
While the Warriors focused on winning championships (four), playing in NBA Finals (six), and reimagining the way basketball is played thanks to the Splash Brothers (Curry and Thompson), the Kings spent the past decade continued to struggle through a desert of uselessness that bordered on irrelevance.
Their overhaul began last season when they acquired Sabonis, an All-Star center, in a deal with Indiana. It continued through the off-season when they signed free-duty reserve guard Malik Monk, traded with Atlanta for Kevin Huerter, and hired Mike Brown, one of Kerr’s assistants, as their coach.
Sure, led by De’Aaron Fox, their All-Star point guard, the Kings went 48-34 during the regular season, dominating each victory by shooting a beam of purple light from the roof of their arena. “Light the beam!” became a rallying cry, helping to bury – if not completely erase – the dysfunction of years past.
On Saturday night, prior to Game 7, Brown dined with his partner’s son at a restaurant in the Sacramento area. A small procession of young boys approached their table to ask Brown some probing questions about the team’s players. They asked about Sabonis’ right thumb, which he broke during the regular season. They asked about Fox’s broken left index finger. They asked if freshman forward Keegan Murray would be ready to shoot in Game 7.
“And one of the kids was a Warriors fan, so they started ribbing him,” Brown said. “And he was like, ‘No, that’s not me! No I am not!’ But he had a Golden State Warriors hat on.
Most of all, Brown said, he felt their excitement — a kind of post-season anticipation Sacramento hadn’t experienced in years.
As for the Warriors, their roster seemed to be in constant flux during the regular season. Curry injured a shoulder and sprained an ankle. Andrew Wiggins, their starting small forward, left the team in mid-February for personal reasons, missing the last 25 games of the regular season.
Kerr, meanwhile, struggled to balance between securing a playoff place (not a certainty) and developing young players such as Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and James Wiseman, who was eventually traded mid-season. In the end, Kerr continued to lean on the usual suspects – Curry, Thompson and Green, a defensive stalwart – as the postseason came into sharper focus.
Welcoming Wiggins’ return before the start of the playoffs, the Warriors went on to lose their first two games, creating a new obstacle: Curry, Thompson and Green trailed 2–0 in a playoff draw for the first time in their careers. series. Maybe they needed a new challenge.
On Sunday, Sacramento led 58-56 at halftime, as Golden State—a team known for years for lashing out teams in the third quarter—went its usual course. Curry sank a three-pointer. He sliced through a mix of defenders to land a layup. He drained a float.
“You can tell when he’s locked up or laser-focused,” Green said.
By the time Kevon Looney, the team’s starting center, scored on an offensive rebound, Golden State was leading with 9.
The predominant mood of the Kings fans in the arena was not necessarily panic, but there was certainly fear. Curry had found himself in situations like this many times before, and none of it—not the hostile environment, not the pressure of a Game 7—seemed to bother him. In fact, he fed on it.
“This is one of the best players in the history of the game,” said Kerr, adding: “The resilience and the work that goes into it, the focus, it’s incredible to see.
As Golden State’s lead widened in the fourth quarter, public fear turned to resignation.
Looney ended a great run with a double-double, 11 points and 21 rebounds.
“The man is an outright winner and machine,” Kerr said.
However, the podium belonged to Curry, which was no surprise. Another guard against the Lakers. After Sunday’s game, Curry was asked if anyone could stop him.
“Hopefully we’ll never find out,” he said.