Steph responds to Beal’s 50 with 49 in 29 minutes

Nick Friedell is the Chicago Bulls beat reporter for ESPN Chicago. Friedell is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and joined ESPNChicago.com for its launch in April 2009.

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry’s incredible run shows no signs of stopping any time soon. The Golden State Warriors superstar scored 49 points in Saturday’s 136-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, putting together yet another brilliant performance in a season that’s been full of them.

Curry, who is now averaging a league-high 31.9 points per game, got a little extra motivation prior to the game, knowing that Washington Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal went off for 50 points in a 133-132 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers.

Curry has been in a back-and-forth battle with Beal for the scoring title over the past month. And Curry seemed to take the challenge of seeing how many he could put up on a night when Beal had already done so much damage. When asked if he knew before the game how many points Beal had scored, Curry didn’t hesitate.

“Of course, I did,” Curry said. “I know what he’s doing. He’s obviously been playing at a high level, but any time somebody gets 50, you hear about it.”

Curry finished the night going 14-for-26 from the field, including 11-for-21 from beyond the arc. It was the seventh time this season that Curry has made at least 10 3-pointers in a game and the 22nd time he has done it in his career. It’s also the fifth time he has hit the mark in his last 15 games. To put that in perspective, Curry’s longtime teammate Klay Thompson has the second-most such games in NBA history with five — in his career.

Thanks in large part to Curry’s 11 treys, the Warriors set a new franchise record for 3s in a game with 27 against the Thunder. Curry still trails Thompson for most 3-pointers in a game, with 14. But after seeing the way Curry has been shooting throughout the season, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he is confident that Curry will get that record at some point soon.

“I’m sure he’ll get it,” Kerr said. “It’s just a matter of time the way he shoots the ball and the way the game has evolved. We shot 54 3s tonight and I didn’t bat an eye. When I got here seven years ago, I could not have imagined our team taking 54 3s, but everything’s different now. And in an era where the 3-point shot is king, Steph is the best one of them all, so he’ll probably break that record some time soon.”

Curry was showered with “MVP” chants throughout the night. But after raining down several shots late in the third quarter, Chase Center, which late last month finally started allowing fans back in the building, was the loudest it had been in over a year as fans cheered wildly while Curry put on another impressive show. As has become custom since their return, many fans waited in their seats after the game to give Curry one more ovation as another round of “MVP” chants could be heard as he left the floor.

“It’s been a great run, obviously,” Curry said, noting that he appreciated the “love” from the fans. “Trying to continue it … obviously, when you see the first two go down you start to find another level of confidence even to start the game and try to create an avalanche from there. We did a good job sharing the ball, taking care of it so that we got great opportunities every possession.”

The fact that Curry did all his damage in just 29 minutes made this particular showcase even more impressive. Saturday marked just the third time in Curry’s storied career that he has had two 20-point quarters in the same game, according to ESPN Stats & Information data. The other two games came on October 24, 2018, and April 13, 2016.

The win kept the Warriors (35-33) half a game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies (34-33) for the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff standings with four games left to play.

Curry didn’t bite when asked if the NBA was looking forward to a potential No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchup between the Warriors and LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers — but that would be the star-powered matchup if the season ended now, given that the Lakers currently sit in seventh place.

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