3 Times Stephen Curry went nuclear and the Golden State Warriors lost in the last two NBA seasons
Stephen Curry is coming off winning the NBA scoring title in the 2020-21 campaign and has started the 2021-22 season at a tremendous level again. The two-time NBA MVP is looking to put the Golden State Warriors among the elite teams again, and the campaign has started quite well for them.
Although the team is missing Klay Thompson, Curry guided the Dubs to a 4-0 start with some great shooting nights, apart from the Opening Night game against the LA Lakers. The Warriors fell to 4-1 after losing in overtime against Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Stephen Curry's Top 3 performances in losing efforts over the last two NBA seasons
Curry and Morant are currently leading the league in scoring, and the two-time NBA MVP will be looking to repeat his feat as the top scorer again.
Stephen Curry is currently averaging 30.4 points per game, with a decent shooting split of 42/38/97 by his standards. He put up 36 points in the Warriors' loss against Memphis and even though Curry did not have a great shooting night, it wasn't the first time he scored over 30 points and the Dubs lost the game.
Last season, as Golden State missed the NBA Playoffs, Stephen Curry definitely had some brilliant efforts that did not produce a win for Steve Kerr's team. He averaged 32 points per game last year to lead the NBA, but the team could not be consistent on offense.
The Warriors are currently 14th in Offensive Rating, which is slightly better than last year (20th). That trend might continue once Curry and Klay Thompson become the team's true backcourt.
Having a nuclear night and losing the game has not been unusual for Curry since the 2020-21 NBA season, and it could continue to happen on some nights of the current campaign.
Throughout his career, Stephen Curry has averaged 25.6 points per game in regular-season victories (504) and 21.7 points per game in losses (263). Last year, he put up 33.9 points in wins (37) and 29.2 in losses (26).
In this article, we will take a look at three games in which Stephen Curry has been phenomenal in the last two NBA seasons but his Golden State Warriors have lost.
#3 Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics | February 2nd, 2021
When the Golden State Warriors fell against the Boston Celtics on February 2nd, 2021, Stephen Curry was not to blame for the team's lack of success.
Unequivocally, the two-time NBA MVP kept his team in the chase for a victory against Boston. On his way to leading the NBA in scoring, Curry scored 38 points, scored 12 of his 21 field goals, and made seven of his 14 attempts from the three-point line.
He appeared in 38 minutes during that four-point loss against the Celtics, and finished with a +4 Plus/Minus. Apart from converting all his attempts from the free-throw line (7/7), Stephen Curry grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out eight assists in the loss, which gave the Golden State Warriors an 11-10 record at that point in the regular season.
#2 Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics | April 17th, 2021
Even with all the success that Stephen Curry has enjoyed in his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics have created some problems for them in the regular season.
Apart from the Boston Celtics, only the San Antonio Spurs have had more success against Curry's Warriors since he entered the NBA in 2009. The Spurs have a 17-13 record against Golden State in that time.
Following that pattern, the Boston Celtics swept their regular-season series against Golden State in the 2020-21 season. The Cs managed that feat despite Stephen Curry having a 38-point night against them and following it up with 47 points a couple of months later.
The 47-point night came on April 17th, 2021 in the TD Garden, but Boston protected its home court and defeated Golden State 119-114. Curry made 15 of his 27 field goals, 11 of his 19 threes and went 6/8 from the free-throw line.
#1 Golden State Warriors vs Dallas Mavericks | February 6th, 2021
Stephen Curry had the two greatest scoring games of his regular-season career in the 2020-21 NBA season on his way to averaging a career-high 32 points per game throughout the entire season.
He put up a career-high 62 points against Damian Lillard's Portland Trail Blazers early in the season. Stephen Curry then had the second-highest scoring game of his NBA career on February 6th, 2021 against Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks.
However, the Slovenian and the Mavs protected their home arena and took a 134-132 win behind Doncic's 42 points and 11 assists in 38 minutes on the night.
Curry converted 19 of 31 field goals that night, including 11 of his 19 attempts from threes and went perfect from the free-throw line in eight attempts.
Also read: "Little critical of myself on those last three shots" - Stephen Curry on failing to score in 4th quarter and overtime in Golden State Warriors' loss to Memphis Grizzlies