Stephen Curry's hot streak is showing no signs of slowing down as he turned in another supernova shooting performance to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 136-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In just 29 minutes on court through three quarters, Curry poured in 49 points on 14-of-26 from the field and a scorching 11-of-21 from the 3-point line.
No...this shot chart has not been Photoshopped.
Earlier in the night, Bradley Beal took a huge step in overtaking Curry's lead at the top of the NBA's scoring charts, pouring in 50 points in an overtime win over the Indiana Pacers and Curry was well aware of what he needed to do to keep his place at the top.
“Of course, I did,” Curry said post-game, when asked if the scoring title crossed his mind. “That was the second thought, for sure.”
Curry needed 22 points to stay in front of Beal, who is averaging 31.4 points per game. He did that and more in just 12 minutes.
He went off for 24 points in the first quarter alone, his highest-scoring quarter of the season and the 33rd 20-point quarter of his career (seven this season).
Steph Curry gets out to 24 1st quarter PTS (5 3PM) on NBA League Pass! ☔️ pic.twitter.com/mygRuX1JbC
— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2021
It's also the 10th time he's scored at least 20 points in the first quarter of game.
Even his brother Seth was in awe.
Stop it man 😂 @StephenCurry30
— Seth Curry (@sdotcurry) May 9, 2021
His 24 points came on 6-of-9 from the field, 5-of-7 from the 3-point line and 7-of-7 from the free throw line, earning praise from head coach Stever Kerr.
“It seems like he’s just always spectacular these days, and tonight, he topped it. He was like really spectacular,” Kerr said. “I don’t know how to describe it, but when he got going in the third, you could hear everyone in anticipation of the ball going into the hoop. It’s just amazing.
“The skill level is matched by his confidence level, and magical things happen.”
At age 33, Curry, who is currently averaging 31.9 points per game would become the oldest player since Michael Jordan to win the scoring title, who led the league in scoring in 1997-98 at age 35.
It wasn't just the scoring title on the line in this one as the win over the Thunder keeps the Warriors in the No.8 seed, tied with the Memphis Grizzlies (34-33), who won their game against the Toronto Raptors earlier in the night. The season series between the two is tied at 1-1, with their final matchup scheduled for the final day of the regular season.
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