It surely took every last bit ounce of energy from Steph Curry in Wednesday night’s miraculous win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Golden State Warriors were down and seemingly out. The lead was double digits, the L.A. fans were roaring, and the Warriors season appeared it had reached it expiry.
Then Steph happened. Then Chef Curry started cooking. And the Clippers felt the unabated onslaught emerging.
Curry logged nearly double-digit fourth quarter minutes — although he was on a softer minutes restriction in the game — and scored 11 points (while his star counterpart, Kawhi Leonard had just two) on 4-for-6 shooting overall and 2-for-3 from 3.
One of those two long balls was executed in trademark Curry fashion.
Dribble. Dribble. Hesitation. Stepback. Splash.
All in that order.
Golden State Warriors See Vintage Performance by Star — Now There’s One Concern
The timeless Curry showed once again he absolutely still has all it takes to perform and deliver wins in big time games. That one saved the Warriors’ season while simultaneously ending the Clippers’.
It was only less than two weeks ago the 38-year-old Golden State star made his return from a tricky knee injury that sidelined him 27 consecutive games. He played just four regular season games before Wednesday’s single-elimination. He had every excuse imaginable not to play well.
But indeed, play well is what he did. (How about that for an understatement?)
Understandably, that victory over the Clippers was going to leave Curry winded. He’s technically still working his way back — which makes it all the more amazing what he did less than 48 hours ago.
Ahead of tonight’s play-in game against the Suns, however, the Warriors could have a little something to be wary of.
According to team insider Anthony Slater, Curry went through extensive recovery after Wednesday night’s game to recalibrate after a heavier minutes load.
“Steph Curry’s recovery circuit probably took about 90 minutes,” Slater reported on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Friday. “[Curry played] 36 minutes, which is a few more than he was supposed to play, right? That’s only the fourth time this year he’s reached that much.
Slater also reported Curry was not at shoot around this morning, which suggests the two-time MVP is prioritizing rest ahead of tonight’s game.
Another Classic Steph Curry Performance in Store?
If Curry is aiming for another masterpiece, perhaps the extra rest leading up to tonight’s game will serve him well.
The Warriors have done a good job progressively adding to Curry’s minutes total. Curry has only slightly increased the time he’s played in each game since returning from runner’s knee. Wednesday was the first time he crossed the 30-minute mark since back in January.
Entering the Clippers game, head coach Steve Kerr maintained Curry would play fewer than 40 minutes. Now that could’ve meant 25 minutes or 39 minutes. Considering the circumstances of the game down the stretch, there was no way Curry would’ve sat still on the bench even if was already close to or above his minutes allowance.
Expect tonight to be no different for Curry in the time played department. The Warriors star had a brief moment against the Clippers where it appeared he had tweaked his ankle, but fortunately it did not linger.
Here comes another all-or-nothing game for the Dubs.
Last time, they flexed their championship muscle. Can they do it again tonight?
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