NBA
Stephen Curry Scored 48 Points to Lead The Warriors to Victory Over The Mavericks
Stephen Curry scored 48 points to lead the Warriors to victory over the Dallas Mavericks last night — 33 of Curry’s points came from a season-high 11 three pointers. This matched the most amount of threes that the Mavericks have seen from the opposition this season. Curry was also responsible for the final 7 points which were scored by the Warriors.
However in the end it wasn’t him who closed out the game for the Warriors. They received an assist from a former teammate whom was integral to their team’s first championship run. With the clock ticking down… Harrison Barnes botched a 3 point attempt and carelessly lost control of the ball. Once the ball rolled out of bounds and the clock struck zero, the end result was the Warriors earning their 29th win of the season with the final score 119-114.
Unselfish Play Is The Key to Success
Don’t be fooled… It was not only the brilliant play of Curry which set the Warriors up for success against the Mavericks. The stat sheet might detail that Kevin Durant went 10-21 (28 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks), but the one important attribute which is not accounted for is Kevin’s unselfish play. On more than one occasion last night, he chose not to pad his stat sheet and deferred to Curry instead. This lured the defense in Durant’s direction and freed up Curry to score at will. Klay Thompson suffered a cool down in his offensive production after his last two outings of 43 and 30 points. He went (2-11) beyond the arc gaining 16 points in the process.
Cool Hand Luka
Rookie of the Year front runner Luka Doncic trails only Lebron James in Western Conference all star votes. Ironically, the two all stars that trail him currently are Curry and Kevin Durant. Luka came through with another well crafted performance for his squad. His 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists kept his team competitive, but unfortunately did not put them in prime position to win. Although he has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, there are two flaws which stand out from last night. Those being the 5 turnovers which he committed, that nullified his 5 assists, and three costly missed attempts from the charity stripe. Harrison Barnes provided a solid contribution of 22 points and 4 rebounds despite his costly turnover at the conclusion of the game. DeAndre Jordan delivered a double double (13 points and 14 rebounds) and remained perfect with his assist to turnover ratio.
Ballin Like Jokic…
The Warriors have a challenge on their slate on Tuesday evening. They will make their way to the Mile High City to take on the top team in the Western Conference. The Denver Nuggets currently hold a firm grip of the number one overall position with a record of 29-13. Golden State is just a half a game behind but boast a four game win streak. One of the major factors will be if they can find a way to contain Denver’s big man in the middle, Nikola Jokic. Jokic is averaging career highs of 19.7 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game. One of the Warriors weaknesses this season has been against teams featuring a strong inside presence. Especially since the Warriors utilize an undersized rotation of Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell at the center position.
Will The Warriors overcome these woes and take control of the west? Or will Nikola embrace the recent hip hop video he was a subject of and be “Ballin Like Jokic”? Tune in to find out!
Written by Todd Smith
Photo Credit JW B via Flickr
