Warriors’ coach Kerr says the Steph Curry is at the apex of his career

OAKLAND — Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr said that Steph Curry, who is 29 years old, is at the top of his career.

“Steph is right in his prime, physically, mentally, emotionally,” Kerr said Monday. “He’s the smartest he’s ever been in terms of his knowledge of his opponents and of the league. He’s now seen every possible coverage over the last few years people are throwing at him.”

That was never more evident than Saturday when the Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 109-105, behind Curry’s 49-point performance. It was his sixth-highest scoring game of his career.

The game came down to the wire, and Curry and Celtics’ superstar Kyrie Irving were basically in a one-on-one battle in the final minutes. Curry responded by scoring 13 of the team’s 14 points in the final 1 minute and 45 seconds to beat the Celtics, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Kerr went on to say that Curry is even more exceptional because he’s so unselfish. There’s no ego there. He truly wants what’s best for his team.

“What I think impresses me most about Steph is he knows that if we wanted to, we could play every game like we did last game — put him in a high screen every play, and he could average 35 every game,” Kerr said. “He really could. But it wouldn’t be great for the rest of the team. It wouldn’t be good for other guys, really. It wouldn’t be good for the flow of the game. It would feel more stagnant, which disrupts the rhythm of the other players.”

Curry is at that point in his career where his perspective has caught up to his skills, and Kerr said that makes him a force to be reckoned with.

“He’s got the peace of mind that comes with being a multiple champion and an MVP,” Kerr said. “In some ways, he’s playing with house money. There’s different stages in a player’s career — there’s the climb, there’s the apex and there’s the descent. I feel that this is his apex — nothing to prove, top of your game, feeling great, he should enjoy every bit of it.”

Last Thursday, Curry became the fifth player in franchise history to reach 14,000 points over his career, alongside Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Paul Arizin and Chris Mullin. Over the week, he averaged 35.3 points (the second-highest in the NBA), shooting 59.6 percent from the field, and 56.8 percent from beyond the three-point line. He also averaged seven assists, five rebounds and 1.7 steals a game.

Kerr that Curry is pretty much able to do it all, and he’s smart enough to know what to do when.

“That combination is just incredibly powerful,” he said.

Whiteside, Heat survive Mavericks, 95-88

DALLAS — The Miami Heat already have found a way to lose to the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference. The goal Monday night was to make sure they didn't lose to the two worst teams in the Western Conference within a span of five days.

It almost happened, in what would have been a loss every bit as ugly as Thursday's home humiliation at the hand of the West-worst Sacramento Kings.

But with Hassan Whiteside going for 25 points and 14 rebounds, the Heat held on for a 95-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

Again with a late letdown against the downtrodden, the Heat found themselves having to play to the finishing after building an 18-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

In a season of bad losses, including those to the Eastworst Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic, the Heat seized on the Whiteside advantage early against the defense of Dirk Nowitzki to complete the two-game season sweep of Dallas — barely.

3-point shooting dooms Sixers in loss to Bucks

MILWAUKEE — The 76ers had a bad combination Monday night.

They were without their NBA all-star center Joel Embiid and they struggled mightily in their 3-point shooting. That contributed to a 107-95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Embiid was ruled out of the game Monday morning, one day after being deemed "available" to play. It would have marked the first time he has played in both games of a back-to-back situation in his two-year career.

The Sixers (24-23) dropped to 2-8 in games without him this season.

This loss came on a night when they made a season-low two 3-pointers in 26 attempts. Their previous season low was three. The Sixers did it in back-to-back games against the Cleveland Cavaliers (Nov. 27) and Washington Wizards (Nov. 29).

The Sixers' 7.7 percent shooting on threes was also a season low. Their previous season low of 10.7 percent came in the game against the Cavs.