'Sublime' Curry breaks NBA record in playoff epic
With his big-game swagger on display for the world and that signature mouthpiece dangling from a celebratory grin, Stephen Curry drove fearlessly to the basket with jaw-dropping acrobatics all afternoon and he fired with precision from way back in a game seven extravaganza for the ages.
He even playfully pretended to push the button and light the beam, Sacramento-style.
Curry scored a playoff career-high 50 points in the most prolific game seven performance ever and answered time and again to will the Warriors on in their quest for a repeat, sending Golden State into the Western Conference semi-finals with a 120-100 win against the Sacramento Kings.
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Curry led a memorable comeback in the series, too, perhaps improbable even for the defending champions when they got down 2-0 and given their road woes all season.
“It's amazing ‘cuz you’re still in the fight,” Curry said.
“Better than the alternative of on the outside looking in. Having been down 0-2 in this series, nothing was guaranteed, you don't take anything for granted.”
Curry’s points are the most in NBA history in a game seven, topping former teammate Kevin Durant’s 48 for the Nets against Milwaukee in 2021.
“For Steph to be the first player ever to get 50 in a game seven, he’s sublime,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Kevon Looney grabbed 21 rebounds for a Warriors team that needed to win twice on the road facing a hostile, cowbell-clanging crowd in the state capital to become the first reigning champion to drop the first two games and win any post-season series.
Now, bring on LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals with all that NBA finals history between James and Golden State dating to his Cleveland days.
Game one is Friday at Chase Center.
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