USATSI
Stephen Curry has made more crazy shots look casual than any player in basketball history, and he did it again on Thursday night.
This time it happened in Brooklyn on the final possession of the first half as the Warriors took on the Nets. Curry caught the ball at the logo with his back to the basket and three seconds on the clock. There was nothing to do but turn and fire and, you guessed it, Curry cashed the thing like it was a casual midrange jumper.
I mean come on, man. A 35-foot fallaway? And the thing is, Curry took that shot with every intention of making it. It was a heave, but not a full-on prayer. There’s a difference.
There was just enough time on the clock to take a dribble or two, but Curry knew that would only lead to a more contested attempt. By launching it a split second early, he allowed himself the space he needed for at least a clean view of the rim.
That’s all a guy like Curry needs.
Curry has been making a habit of these halftime buzzer-beaters of late. Against Orlando last Thursday, he buried a three-quarter court fling to close the first half, giving the Warriors the momentum they needed to make a huge second-half comeback as Curry finished with 56 points.
This shot on Thursday had a similar effect. The Warriors trailed by 20 points at the end of the first quarter, and Curry’s shot cut the deficit to just five at the half. Riding that momentum, the Warriors took their first lead of the game inside the first three minutes of the third quarter and went on to win, 121-119. Curry finished with 40 points.
Golden State (35-28) has now won 10 of its last 12 games to rise into the West’s No. 6 seed with legitimate eyes on climbing even higher. The Warriors trail No. 5 seed Houston by three games with one head-to-head matchup left and the tiebreaker in the bag.
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