BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The best trip of Steph Curry’s season started in Orlando, Fla., last Thursday night. His Golden State Warriors were down 17 in a bleak first half before he changed the complexion of the game with a 50-foot rainbow from way beyond half court at the second-quarter buzzer.
Curry had a third-quarter flurry and finished with 56 points, and the Warriors came back to win.
Steph had the entire Magic team in shambles 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/2fyDrgE6HU
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) February 28, 2025
The best trip of Curry’s season finished in Brooklyn this Thursday night. Seven days apart, his Warriors fell into an even larger first-half hole, trailing by 22 in the first quarter. But Curry’s fireworks again changed the complexion of the game, punctuated by this turnaround near-40-footer right before the second-quarter buzzer:
Steph Curry is 29-of-56 from 3 on this road trip. Here is the 29th make. pic.twitter.com/Hcs8uA00og
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 7, 2025
Curry said he was so shocked it went in that he sprinted to the locker room even though 0.3 seconds remained on the clock because he didn’t want the frenzied crowd to realize his surprise. He finished with 40 points in another Warriors comeback win: 121-119.
In between those signature performances, Curry made his lone homecoming appearance in Charlotte, leading the Warriors to an easy win. He then had a smooth 29 points and 13 assists during their lone loss at the Philadelphia 76ers, which included his first dunk of the season. And he put on a show in Madison Square Garden, finishing with 29 points and five 3s to close out the New York Knicks.
In all, Curry averaged more than a point per minute during the 4-1 stampede: 34.8 points in 33.9 minutes per game. He went 32-of-62 on 3s (51.6 percent). He had three games of at least nine assists and at least three times per game when the defense’s obsession with him generated an easy layup for a teammate without his touching the ball.
All the while, he won over the crowd in each city. Orlando and Brooklyn even gave him “M-V-P” chants.
“Steph just had an incredible trip,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Put on a show in every city. What he does, it’s amazing. The show he puts on, the joy that he brings to so many fans who come to see him play. Every fan base loves Steph.”
“When we were out there on the court, I was thinking to myself, ‘The NBA is lucky,’” Draymond Green said. “This guy is going into every arena and putting on a show. We’re all lucky.”
Steve Kerr: “Steph just had an incredible trip. Put on a show in every city.” pic.twitter.com/KpIFZ5Vvjl
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 7, 2025
This is a completely different version of Curry from the one who labored through December and January, sitting one side of back-to-backs to manage his double knee tendinitis.
His knees started feeling better several weeks ago. He credited that for the dunk on this trip. His body is in a good place. The All-Star break came at a beneficial time. Curry also generally heats up around this time of the season, when the weather is warming and the playoffs are approaching.
“All of it,” Curry said when asked what was contributing to his surge.
All of it including the Jimmy Butler trade, which has turned the Warriors’ season. They have won eight straight games with Butler in the lineup and are 10-1 overall. He had 25 rugged points against the Nets, making all 10 of his free throws and contributing three steals. He was a plus-17.
“Jimmy obviously helps,” Curry said. “He helps a lot.”
The Warriors have come back from down 20 twice since Butler has been with them after doing so only once in the 51 games before his arrival. Curry commented earlier in the season that the Warriors weren’t “built” to come back from large deficits. For nearly two months, they were a bottom-10 offense.
They are built differently with Butler.
“We can get great looks, and ultimately we know we can get stops,” Green said. “When you have confidence in both of those, there’s no need to waver (when down 20-plus). Steph was right. We were not built to come back like that. But this is a totally different team. Totally different confidence level in this team. Totally different capabilities, if I’m being honest.”
(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
