Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Warriors' Steph Curry Says 2nd-Half Comeback vs. Clippers Was 'Awesome Night'

Tim Daniels

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry helped his team complete a 22-point comeback during the second half of Friday's 115-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, and many of his teammates walked away in a state of awe.

"Pretty awesome, awesome night, considering how the first 28 minutes went," Curry told reporters after knocking down a game-high 38 points.

Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins described what it's like being a Curry teammate when the 32-year-old guard is cooking.

"He's making shots that you be like, 'Whoa!' There's not a lot of shots that he can't make," Wiggins said. "As soon as he steps over half, he's a threat, so he causes a lot of attention. So when he gets rolling, you just sit back and watch and let him roll."

Curry missed a majority of the 2019-20 season because of a hand injury, making just five appearances, but he's quickly returned to an MVP level to open the current campaign.

The six-time All-Star, who won back-to-back MVP awards in 2014-15 and 2015-16, is averaging 30.6 points, which ranks second in the NBA behind the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal (35.0), to go along with 6.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals through nine games for the 5-4 Warriors.

His performance Friday was prime Curry, as he was practically unguardable while knocking down shots from anywhere on the floor, including nine threes. He also dished out 11 assists in 36 minutes.

"Sometimes, I've got to remember that I'm his teammate," Dubs forward Eric Paschall told reporters. "I'm so used to watching it on TV. Sometimes I got to remember like, 'Hey, hold on. You're playing with Steph.' But sometimes you do want to sit there and watch. I'm not going to lie."

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr pointed out it's the latest in a long line of instances where Curry, who scored a season-low 13 points in Wednesday's loss to the Clippers, bounced back in a major way:

"There's not too much you have to say beyond it's just who Steph is. He's been doing this for many, many years and one of the reasons he's a two-time MVP and he's a phenomenal basketball player. And usually with Steph when he has a tough game he bounces back [in] the next one. That's part of his character, part of his competitiveness. He found something out there, he found some openings, and got himself going."

It's unfortunate for the Warriors, and basketball fans in general, that Klay Thompson suffered a torn Achilles in November during the final stages of his recovery from a torn ACL. Getting the Splash Brothers back to full strength would have vaulted the team right back toward title contention.

Whether Golden State can get back to that level without Thompson is harder to say, but with Curry seemingly back to his old, dominant self, the Dubs are capable of making some noise in the loaded Western Conference.

The Warriors are back on their home floor Sunday when they face the Toronto Raptors at the Chase Center.

 

   

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