San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
After pair of routs, Jazz, Suns on deck
WARRIORS 136, THUNDER 97
It didn’t take long for a familiar chant to emanate from a Chase Center crowd of 4,155 on Saturday night: “MVP!”
Only a couple of minutes into the Warriors’ 13697 win over the Thunder, fans began to shout those three letters. Golden State guard Stephen Curry’s dazzling ballhandling and deep jumpers already warranted as much.
Perhaps those spectators would’ve held off a bit, however, if they had known what was about to unfold. By the time Curry’s night ended with the Warriors up 10667 at the end of the third quarter, more than a few fans had hoarse voices.
Curry had posted two 20point quarters — 24 in the first, 22 in the third — for the fourth time in his career on his way to 49 points on 14for26 shooting (11for21 from 3point range) in just 29 minutes. It marked his fifth time in the past 15 games with at least 10 made 3pointers, and his seventh 40point game in his past 18 opportunities.
This was absurd even for a player who has made the ridiculous look routine. Late in the third quarter, Curry caught a pass along the left wing, waited for the doubleteam, took a dribble and drained a stepback 32footer over an outstretched arm. As fans shrieked with glee and resumed their chant, Curry shook his head slightly and smirked.
It was the type of facial expression that suggested he knew he couldn’t be stopped. Perhaps the only positive takeaway for the Thunder was that, with the Warriors well on their way to a 39point win, it would be his last 3pointer of the night.
“Steph puts on a show every night,” center Kevon Looney said. “It’s amazing some of the shots he hits, some of the shots he takes.”
Golden State went 27for54 from beyond the arc to set the franchise record for 3pointers made, finishing two shy of the NBA record. Making the night even sweeter was that the win buoyed the Warriors’ chances of securing eighth place in the Western Conference.
Sitting a halfgame up on ninthplace Memphis with four games left, Golden State is on track to have two chances to win one game in the playin tournament and earn a playoff berth. This is a testament to the Warriors not overlooking an overmatched opponent.
The Thunder are jostling for lottery balls, but Golden State recognized that it needed to sweep its twogame set against them to have a shot at that prized No. 8 spot. The four other teams the Warriors face the rest of the season are playoff contenders.
“The focus needs to be on what you need to do,” Curry said. “We only had two turnovers at halftime, and for us, that’s a big sign of focus and execution. That for us is huge.”
Fresh off winning its two games over the Thunder by a combined 60 points, Golden State hosts the West’s two best teams: Utah on Monday and Phoenix on Tuesday. Though the competition may be daunting, the Warriors hardly plan to change their blueprint.
They’ll continue to bank on forward Draymond Green helping unlock Curry’s greatness. On Saturday, Green had 13 assists — many to Curry — to pair with his 15 points.
However, Curry was the one hitting 30footers and becoming the target of another ingame MVP campaign from the fans. About 10 minutes removed from the final buzzer, after he was doused with water by teammate Kent Bazemore during his postgame TV interview, Curry glanced up and saw hundreds of spectators still present, still chanting.
“He’s definitely the MVP in my book,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “These last few weeks have to have at least vaulted him up in the order.”