The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry scored 50 points in a record-shattering performance on Sunday to send the defending champions into the second round of the NBA playoffs, while a Jimmy Butler ankle injury raised tensions for triumphant Miami Heat.
Curry, a four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, was nearly unstoppable against the Sacramento Kings as the Warriors beat their hosts 120-100 to capture their best-of-seven Western Conference series 4-3.
“I just wanted to come out and look for shots early, get my teammates going throughout the game, but when I’m looking for shots, it usually works in our favor,” Curry said.
Photo: AP
The 35-year-old guard delivered an incredible performance, hitting 20 of a career-high 38 shot attempts and going 7 of 18 from three-point range and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line.
“It was about being aggressive,” Curry said. “I got 38 shots for a reason. We started to see where the holes were and I could be ultra aggressive, and it worked.”
Curry also added eight rebounds and six assists.
“Steph was elite. He put these guys on his back and said: ‘We’re not losing,’” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “Give Steph a tonne of credit for doing exactly what he’s supposed to do. Heck of a performance.”
Curry’s 50 points were a career playoff high and the most points in any NBA Game 7 — breaking the old mark of 48 set by Kevin Durant for the Brooklyn Nets in a 2021 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“What an incredible all-time performance,” Curry’s backcourt teammate Klay Thompson said. “This is a Game 7 I’ll forever remember as the Steph Curry game.”
The Warriors next face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a Western Conference semi-final matchup starting today.
In Sunday’s other playoff contest, Butler scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Miami 108-101 over their hosts the New York Knicks in their Eastern Conference second-round opener, but suffered a right ankle injury.
The series continues today at New York, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was unsure of Butler’s status.
“No idea,” Spoelstra said on Sunday. “You just don’t know with ankle sprains. I don’t even know if we will know more by tomorrow. We’ll just have to wait and see. It will be a waiting game.”
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