A few days ago, my fellow writer Francis wrote about the tough slump that Steph Curry had been suffering throughout this season. He had a legitimate point, and Curry’s shooting woes had been a real source of concern for the Golden State Warriors.
Well, it turns out that the Houston Rockets’ Kevin Porter Jr. may be a closet Curry fan, because he did everything in his power to wake the baby-faced assassin up. Man, that boy talked a lot of shit during the game, and he sure had to eat crow after the final buzzer.
When the Warriors were being threatened with a comeback by the Rockets, Curry came up big in the fourth quarter, scoring 21 points while shooting 7 of 10 from the field, 4 of 6 from beyond the arc and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. Steph did a little bit of everything in that final quarter, including winning a jump ball and, of course, nailing a three.
Curry finished with 40 points, five rebounds, nine assists, a steal, a block and a single turnover. He shot 13 of 23 from the field, 7 of 14 from three, and 7 of 8 from the field.
If there was a key moment in the game, it was probably when Kevin Porter Jr. decided to keeping jawing at Curry and the Dubs after making a three that cut what had been an 18-point Warriors lead down to 108-104 with 5:01 left in the game. That ignited the Warriors, who went on a 14-4 run to close the game, where Steph was directly responsible for five points while also throwing a pass to Andrew Wiggins that earned them two points at the free throw line.
Porter Jr. had been talking shit to Curry all game, which you’ve got to love because it’s a competitive league, but sometimes you shouldn’t prod a sleeping giant. This is especially true considering that a few days ago Curry had already sank them with the first game-winning buzzer beater of his career. The Rockets’ guard finished with 17 points and 11 assists, while teammate Christian Wood led the way for them with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins had a solid game of his own for the Dubs, doing a little bit of everything as he ended the game with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks while turning it over once. Kevon Looney continues to thrive as their menace at the boards after finishing with seven points and 14 rebounds.
Klay Thompson struggled with his long ball, going 1 of 8 from deep, but hit 6 of 7 of his two-pointers on the way to 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Again, I love the competitive fire that Porter Jr. showed, but it is never good idea to antagonize someone who’s made a career out of torching other teams.
