Steph Curry Makes History in Statement Win

Well, we all knew it was coming. After a slow start to the season minus a riveting performance against the Clippers, Steph Curry went nuclear against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. While it was a battle all through the first half, the Warriors put on a landslide of a 3rd quarter, depositing 40 points (18 belonging to Steph) and holding Atlanta to just 21. The Dubs ballooned their lead up to 20 by the time Steph sat down with 45, although he would eventually return to complete the 50-ball and shut the door entirely.

It wasn’t just a reminder of how good the greatest point guard ever is, however. Tonight was historic, with Curry becoming the oldest player to drop 50 points and 10 assists in NBA history at age 33, as well as the 3rd player in Warriors franchise history with 10+ 50-point performances. He joins James Harden as the only player to put up a 50/10 game in under 35 minutes, and is the first player to hit the 50 mark this season.

Before tonight, Steph wasn’t looking quite like his old self. Reports had come out that he’d been feeling under the weather, he’d been a completely average NBA all-star instead of the world-breaking, defense-warping MVP everybody knows well, and even with the Warriors at 8-1 and his box plus minus leading the league, he just didn’t seem the same. Tonight was a great reminder of what Curry is capable of on a nightly basis. Now that he seems to be adjusted, we’ll be seeing more of this throughout the season.

In terms of how he played en-route to the Warriors 9th win, he was scoring in a myriad of ways: Off and on-ball, via screens, and a few very nice buckets out of the isolation (including this first half-ending stepback over two Hawks and this ridiculous sidestep over Cam Reddish). It was the versatile scoring performance we’d seen against the Clippers, and in all likelihood could be seeing more consistently from this night onwards.

Curry going nuclear puts him about 5 threes behind Ray Allen for the most 3-pointers in NBA history in the regular season and playoffs combined. Everyone was expecting that’d be one of the records he’d smash this season, which he very well could do against the Timberwolves on Wednesday. He has 52 threes made on the season, good for first place despite his “average” shooting, but leaving him still a few short for the all-time record in the regular season. On the pace he’s at, however, there is still plenty of time for him to break number 1 and then some.

In spite of his lacking scoring for his standards, Curry’s net rating as a defender ranks in the top 10, and he’s close to leading the Warriors in assists if he didn’t take over that spot tonight. He’s played phenomenal all-around this season, and is obviously still a big reason the Warriors are in the position they are currently in. If this season continues and Steph returns to his usual stellar play, the MVP should be in the bag.

(Photo credit: NBAE / Getty Images)