Damion Lee (R) of the Golden State Warriors pours a bottle of water on Stephen Curry to celebrate after Curry scores a career high 62 points in the win over the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, January 3, 2021. /CFP
In their second meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center in three days, the Golden State Warriors got vengeance for the loss on Friday by defeating the opponents 137-122 while witnessing their franchise player Stephen Curry put down a career-high 62 points.
Sixty-two is the highest points by any Warrior since Rick Barry in 1974 and made Curry the fifth in franchise history to get 60+ points in one game after Wilt Chamberlain, Barry, Joe Fulks and Klay Thompson. Curry also joined LeBron James, James Harden, Devin Booker, Thompson, Kemba Walker, Damian Lillard and Carmelo Anthony as the eighth active player to score 60+ points. Having done that at 32 years and 295 days old, Curry is the second-oldest one in NBA history with a 60+ point game following Kobe Bryant.
Stephen Curry (R) of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center, January 3, 2021. /CFP
By the way, Curry also went 8-16 behind the 3-point line. Some 174 players have done that a total of 425 times in league history and 49 of them came from Curry.
"Cue the Jordan meme, right? I take all that personally," said Curry during a postgame video conference with reporters.
Though Curry has won two MVP awards, three NBA titles and kept refreshing all kinds of records about 3-pointer shooting since 2013, many still kept questioning him. Was he just lucky to meet broken Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals in 2015? Was his unanimous MVP in 2016 a joke? Is he just benefitting from the Warriors' system or Kevin Durant? Does Curry have what it takes to carry his team?
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors drives toward the rim in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center, January 3, 2021. /CFP
All those questions answered themselves after Sunday's game.
Thanks to his historic 3-pointer shooting ability, many forgot how much Curry has altered and improved his game in the past five years. For example, Curry was 6-7 under the hoop and earned 19 free throws (made 18) in Sunday's game. He went 4-8 as well between the paint and the triple line. It's safe to say that Curry is a legit offensive threat wherever he is on the floor.
Of course, Sunday's Curry played in a different way because he had to. In the Warriors' system, he's more of a defensive distraction for his 3-pointer threat. Meanwhile, the team's give-and-go style limits the time of everyone having the ball. However, Curry had to drop all those on Sunday night because the system was already malfunctioning with the lineup they have now.
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles the ball in the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chase Center, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Curry charged like a hungry scorer from the beginning. Robert Covington was not fast enough to follow him; Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter both had nightmares defending guard in the mismatch; Derrick Jones may be okay but the Trail Blazers need him to help defense; neither Damian Lillard nor C.J. McCollum has ever been known for their defense. Furthermore, coach Terry Stotts refused to trap Curry like most teams do perhaps for his lingering fear of the Warriors' ball-moving ability.
All the necessary factors were there for Curry to turn on his dominating mode and he did.
"I don't get frazzled too easily and am very confident in who I am as a person. As a basketball player, there's not going to be anything you can say about me or to me that's going to affect that. At the end of the day that's how I got here, and I got a lot of people in my circle that understand what makes me tick, and how much I enjoy this game, and all the different challenges you get to experience having been around 12 years-plus. ... I love everything about what this game offers and the competitiveness and the fire. I never run from it," said Curry.
Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):
Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics celebrates after the win over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Boston Celtics 122-120 Detroit Pistons
Having upset the Celtics in a close game on Friday, the Pistons would not mind doing it again. Unlike the last time when neither side reached 100 points, both the Pistons and the Celtics were on fire, each scoring 30+ points in every quarter (except for the Pistons in Q2).
Fortunately for the Celtics, they had Jayson Tatum who made the game-winning shot at 2.9 second in Q4. This was already the second time for the 22-year-old to do that in the seven games so far this season.
Thomas Bryant #13 of the Washington Wizards dunks in the game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Washington Wizards 123-122 Brooklyn Nets
Russell Westbrook came back after watching his teammates claim the Wizards’ first win of the season. Though he still had difficulty finding the hoop and failed to get another triple-double, the team achieved their second victory in a row.
By contrast, the Nets suffered their fourth loss in the past five games. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving both had the chance to reverse the situation for their team in the last 14.9 seconds but their shots ended as two bricks.
Marc Gasol (L) of the Los Angeles Lakers posts up in the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Los Angeles Lakers 108-94 Memphis Grizzlies
Marc Gasol returned to FedExForum for the first time since he was traded to the Toronto Raptors two seasons ago. He received warm greetings from the Grizzles in a specially-made video and a cut above his eye from a collision with Dillon Brooks. Having got four stitches to fix that injury, Gasol contributed seven points, six rebounds and four assists to help the Lakers win.
The game was tougher than the final result looked like. After the first three quarters, the purple and gold only led 77-75. LeBron James, in his words, got "a bit more in attack mode" and put down 13 points in Q4, putting the win safely into the Lakers' pocket.
Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets passes the ball in the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Denver Nuggets 124-109 Minnesota Timberwolves
Nikola Jokic helped the Nuggets take an easy win over the Timberwolves at Target Center. Though he did not score 36 points like Jamal Murray did, Jokic delivered 12 assists, reaching double digit in this area in all six games so far.
The NBA assist leader last season was James, a guy who has the size of a forward but the heart of a guard. Will Jokic, a 2.13-meter-tall, 129-kilogram center take that honor from James?
Donovn Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball in the game against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Utah Jazz 130-109 San Antonio Spurs
When the Jazz drained 21 triples at a 3-point rate of 51.2 percent, it's really hard for them to lose. Four of their starting-lineup, Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O'Neal together sank 17 threes, led by Bogdanovic's six out of seven attempts.
This is already the fourth consecutive loss for the Spurs. The team should decide their strategy this season – fight for honor or prepare for rebuilding – and they must do it quickly.
Zach Lavine #8 of the Chicago Bulls drives with the ball in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at United Center in Chicago, Illinois, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Dallas Mavericks 108-118 Chicago Bulls
Luka Doncic sat on Sunday's game because of injury and the Mavericks proved they still need him with a loss at United Center. Without Doncic, the team could watch Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Richardson go 9-29 in field goals together.
Zach Lavine took the Bulls to their third win with 39 points, 21 of were scored in the first quarter. The two-time slam dunk contest champion was very upset last season when he failed to make the All-Star Game. If the Bulls cannot improve their record, he may taste that anger again.
Deven Booker (L) of the Phoenix Suns defends Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers in the game at Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, January 3, 2021. /CFP
Los Angeles Clippers 112-107 Phoenix Suns
When Luke Kennard made a 3-pointer at 6:28 in Q2, the Clippers already led by 60-29. When you saw that and Paul George drop court-high 39 points by going 7-10 from the arc, you would have thought it's a slaughter on the floor.
Paul and the Suns disagreed, especially when they trailed only 107-104 in the last two minutes. Though Devin Booker missed his game-tying triple, Sunday's game showed how much the Suns have grown. Besides, young players have a lot to learn from such a close game against tough opponents like the Clippers.
By the way, when Kawhi Leonard went 4-21 on the floor, did it feel like Game 7 of the series against the Nuggets last season to him?