Sharpshooting guard Steph Curry dropped a season-high 46 points against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, guiding the Golden State Warriors to a 125-120 victory. The performance marked Curry’s 12th 40-point outing since he turned 35, tying Michael Jordan for most such games by a player in their late 30s.
Curry is now just three 40-point games away from equalling 40-year-old Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, who has mustered 15 40-point games since turning 35.
Steph Curry In a League By Himself
The 37-year-old Curry has also overtaken James for most 45-point games by a player after turning 35. Amazingly, Curry has seven such performances in 188 games since turning 35, while James has six in 385 contests.
It’s worth noting that Curry now has 43 40-point games since turning 30, another remarkable feat. He is just one shy of equalling Michael Jordan’s mark of 44.
After Wednesday’s game, Curry spoke of being in the same rarefied air as MJ.
“That’s pretty good company, for sure,” Curry said of nearing Jordan’s record.
“We needed every bit of them [the 46 points] tonight. Everybody stepped up. Considering how last night went [against the OKC Thunder], [we] came with great energy, top to bottom. That third quarter is what we do.
“Getting vibes, pushing, creating easy offense. And thankfully, I was able to knock a couple down. But yeah, I’ll take that company, for sure.”
Warriors Pull off Upset
The Warriors, who walked into Wednesday’s game as -4.5 underdogs, pulled off a huge upset win over Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs, ending their early-season funk. Entering the game, they had lost five of their last seven games, and the excessive losing led to a lot of blame game and locker-room tension.
After the win, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr acknowledged the importance of his team regrouping, but made it clear that they didn’t panic amid the losing streak.
“We weren’t exactly panicking,” Kerr said of his team’s mindset, via ESPN’s Anthony Slater. “We were 6-6 and there’s 70 games left. But we needed to rediscover our identity.”
Curry said that the veteran Warriors group, led by himself, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, knew they needed a win to quieten the mounting pressure.
“When you lose, you got to assess what’s going on,” he said. “Don’t be afraid of changes. That means everybody being ready to adapt to whatever you have to do.”
“We’ve been around the block long enough and have enough experience to know we can address stuff and not make it personal,” he added. “It’s everybody taking accountability and ownership. Keeping it real, we’ll probably do it three, four more times the rest of the season.”
The Warriors (7-6) will once again face the Spurs on Friday night as part of a six-game road trip that will continue with stops in New Orleans, Orlando and Miami.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Steph Curry Matches Michael Jordan Record in Warriors Win appeared first on Heavy Sports.