Accolades pour in for Curry from all corners after career-high 62 points
After Stephen Curry torched Portland for a career- high 62 points it didn’t take long for his phenomenal shooting night to set social media ablaze Sunday night.
From Mag ic Johnson, Dy wane Wade and Trae Young to Curr y’s brother Seth and his Splash Brother Klay Thompson, the accolades came f lying in after Curry silenced his early- season critics with his recordsetting night in a 137-122 Golden State win.
But perhaps the most impressive acknowledgement of Curry’s epic night came from the Blazers’ Damian Lillard, who two days earlier had questioned whether the Warriors’ twotime MVP could still dominate without a star like Thompson or Kevin Durant at his side.
The Oakland- born Lillard was not only one of the first to congratulate Curr y af ter the game, but also tweeted his mea culpa for doubting Curry.
“You can’t dish it out and not be able to take it,” Lillard said on Twitter.
It’s not in Curry’s nature to ta ke persona l shots at his doubters or critics, but he certainly seemed extra motivated.
“The great ones always are confident in who they a re,” Cur r y said. “No matter what is said ... it doesn’t affect us or me in that respect.”
Young teammate James Wiseman had his own way of putting Curr y’s big night in perspective. Playing “NBA 2K” while sitting in his bedroom in Nashville, Tennessee, a high- school aged Wiseman would play with the Golden State Warriors and routinely score 60 points with a virtual Curry.
For t he 19 - yea r- old Wiseman, it was his first time seeing a future Hall of Famer play at a Hall of Fame level.
“Actually watching it in person,” Wiseman said, “that was phenomenal. He’s a legend.”
Besides D raymond Green and Kevon Looney, no one else on the Warriors roster has played significant time with Curry. And, prior to Curry’s historic night, none had witnessed these “Curry flurries” as his teammate.
Curry put his greatness on display at Chase Center while shooting 18 for 31 overall and 8 for 16 on 3- pointers to join teammate Thompson in the 60-point club.
Thompson, who scored 60 in just three quarters against the Pacers four years ago, was glad to see his running mate go off.
“Shee sh@ StephenCurry30!! Welcome to the club big bro # 62,” Thompson tweeted.
And Thompson was just one of many around the NBA to show their respect.
A nother look inside Curr y’s numbers shows just how special of a night it was for him:
• His 62 points are the most any Warriors player has scored since 1974, when Rick Barry scored a career-high 64 points in a 143-120 win over the Blazers in Oakland.
• By scoring 31 points in e a ch ha lf Sund ay night, Curry became the first player since New Orleans’ Pete Maravich in 1977 to score more than 30 in each half, according to Elias Sports Research.
• Curry also is the first player to score at least 62 points in 36 minutes (or less) since Kobe Bryant scored 62 points against Dallas in just 33 minutes in 2005.
• It was Curry’s seventh game scoring at least 50 points, moving him past former teammate Kevin Durant for fourth- most 50- point games among active players.
• Curry’s eight 3-pointers marked the 49th time in his career he’s had at least eight 3s in a game. James Harden is second on the active list with 21 games with at least eight 3s.