Golden State’s Stephen Curry scores 50 points in Game 7 win over Sacramento Kings

SACRAMENTO — The Golden State Warriors prepared for the finale of their first-round playoff series with the Sacramento Kings by gathering on Saturday for a weekend shoot on the top floor of the Chase Center, their home arena in San Francisco, with panoramic view. bay view.

Coach Steve Kerr likes to have his movie shows there when there’s space. Otherwise, he said, the team would be stuck “in the dungeon below,” outside of their locker room. He was grateful for the open space, especially ahead of Game 7 on Sunday. It was a therapeutic experience.

“I really think there has to be a sense of perspective,” Kerr said, “even if it’s just a nice view, some sunshine and being able to breathe and rest between games. It might matter.”

Something Else May Matter: Stephen Curry. No one seemed more zen on Sunday than Curry, who led the Warriors to a series-clinching 120-100 victory, spearing the Kings in every imaginable way en route to 50 points — NBA record for game 7. He sank a parabolic three-pointer. He traveled idle. He played with defenders. And he sent scores of Kings fans onto the streets of Sacramento before the game was even over.

“Great,” Kerr said.

“Total dominance,” said Warriors forward Draymond Green.

“It’s nice to look at,” said security guard Clay Thompson.

Curry, Thompson, and Green have blasted opponents for years as some of the NBA’s most famous core defensemen. Kings, on the other hand, did their first postseason appearance since 2006. They had youth and energy. Warriors have Championship DNA.

“It was a great time to put everything together,” said Curry. “There are still nerves, anxiety and anticipation for the big night. But when we get out there, our experience takes over.”

Curry, who arrived at the Golden 1 Center in an all-black ensemble, as if dressed for a wake, shot 20 of 38 from the field and 7 of 18 from a three-pointer. He also had eight rebounds and six assists.

“What an incredible performance for all time,” Thompson said.

#1 Golden State In the conference semifinals starting Tuesday in San Francisco, the 6th seeded team in the Western Conference will face the seventh seeded Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers eliminated the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a first-round series on Friday.

“Doing this for a decade is incredible,” Kerr said of his core players. “The energy it takes to fight against the competition year after year, to prepare and win games, and to do it over and over again is why these guys are Hall of Famers and Champions.”

The Warriors and Kings franchises have long been based less than 100 miles apart, but for most of the last decade they have produced very different brands of basketball—opposite brands of basketball, in fact.

While the Warriors have been busy winning championships (four), playing in the NBA Finals (six), and changing the way basketball is played thanks to the Splash Brothers (Curry and Thompson), the Kings have spent the last decade battling through the desert of futility that they bordered on. with irrelevance.

Their overhaul began last season when they acquired All-Star center Sabonis in a deal with Indiana. This continued into the offseason as they signed backup quarterback Malik Monk as a free agent, traded to Atlanta for Kevin Huerter, and hired Mike Brown, one of Kerr’s assistants, as their coach.

Sure enough, led by De’Aaron Fox, their All-Star point guard, the Kings went 48-34 during the regular season, christening every win with a beam of purple light from their arena rooftops. “Light the Beam!” became a battle cryhelping to bury—if not completely erase—the dysfunction of yesteryear.

On the Saturday night before Game 7, Brown had dinner at a restaurant in Sacramento with his partner’s son. A small group of boys came up to their table to ask Brown some pointed questions about the team’s players. They asked about Sabonis’ right thumb, which he broke during the regular season. They asked about Fox’s broken left index finger. They asked if freshman forward Keegan Murray would be ready to shoot in Game 7.

“And one of the kids was a Warriors fan, so they started playing pranks on him,” Brown said. “And he’s like, ‘No, I’m not like that! No I do not!’ But he was wearing a Golden State Warriors cap.

More than anything, Brown said, he felt their excitement—a post-season anticipation that Sacramento hadn’t experienced in years.

As for the Warriors, their roster seems to have changed constantly over the course of the regular season. Curry injured his shoulder and sprained his ankle. Andrew Wiggins, their starting small forward, left the team in mid-February for personal reasons and missed the last 25 games of the regular season.

Kerr, meanwhile, struggled to find a balance between securing a playoff spot (not sure) and developing young players like Moses Moody, Jonathan Cuminga and James Wiseman, who ended up being traded midseason. After all, Kerr continued to rely on the usual suspects — Curry, Thompson and Green, a die-hard quarterback — as the postseason gained more attention.

The Warriors cheered Wiggins’ return early in the playoffs, then lost their first two games in a new hurdle: Curry, Thompson and Green were behind in a 2-0 playoff series for the first time in their careers. Maybe they need was a new challenge.

On Sunday, Sacramento had a 58-56 lead at halftime when Golden State is a team known for years. gutting teams in the third quarter went about his usual business. Curry hit a three-pointer. He cut through the mix of defenders to grab the layup. He drained the float.

“You can tell when it’s locked or laser focused,” Greene said.

By the time Kevon Looney, the team’s starting center, rebounded offensively, Golden State was leading by 9.

The prevailing mood among the Kings fans in the arena was not necessarily panic, but certainly anxiety. Curry had been in situations like this so many times before, and none of it—neither the hostile environment nor the pressure of Game 7—seemed to bother him. In fact, he ate it.

“He’s one of the best players in the history of football,” Kerr said, adding: “The tenacity and the work that goes into it, the focus is just incredible to watch.”

As Golden State’s lead increased in the fourth quarter, spectators’ anxiety gave way to resignation.

Looney great series ended with a double-double, 11 points and 21 rebounds.

“This guy is an absolute winner and a machine,” Kerr said.

However, the scene belonged to Curry, which is not surprising. Another one is waiting against the Lakers. After Sunday’s game, Curry was asked if anyone could stop him.

“I hope we never find out,” he said.