The opposing crowd couldn’t help but tip their hats to Wardell Stephen Curry II on Thursday night.
Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry absolutely barbecued the Orlando Magic defense, pouring in a gaudy 56 points on 12 three-pointers. The Herculean effort by Curry helped Golden State earn the 121-115 victory on the road in Orlando to extend their winning streak to five straight games.
The former NBA MVP Curry was already up to 43 points near the end of the third quarter and received a surprising reception from the Orlando crowd as he took a seat on the bench with 2:21 left in the period. The fans at Kia Center saluted Curry with a very loud ovation.
Even more surprising was what transpired towards the end of the game as Curry was at the free throw line with 13.3 seconds remaining. Curry got “MVP” chants from the Orlando crowd.
A few Warriors fans were clearly visible in attendance there. But considering that the game was played nearly 3,000 miles away from the Bay Area (and on a weeknight), there definitely had to be some local fans as well showing their appreciation for an all-time great in Curry.
Set to turn 37 years old next month, Curry can still catch fire like no one else in the league. The 56-point outing marked his fourth-best scoring performance ever (Curry’s career high is 62, which he set in 2021), and the 12 three-pointers were just one off his personal best of 13 set back in 2016 (and two off the NBA single-game record of 14 set by Klay Thompson in 2018).
The Warriors have gone through some difficult moments this season and had a losing record at 25-26 just three weeks ago. But with the addition of Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline and Curry now having rediscovered his trademark form, Golden State finds themselves firmly back in contention once again.
