Despite scoring 22 points, Steph Curry did not have his best shooting night for the Golden State Warriors on Friday. But when he was asked to make the biggest shot of the evening, Curry did what he does best: knock down a jumper and lead the Dubs to a win.
The Warriors found themselves in a close one with the upstart Houston Rockets, and with Draymond Green sidelined due to an injury, Houston looked primed for an upset. With just over four and a half minutes remaining, the Rockets found themselves up by seven, and thanks to Curry struggling from the floor, they had real reason to think they could get the job done.
But Golden State made their way back, and after a pair of free throws by Otto Porter, the two teams entered the final 80 seconds of regulation all tied up. Both sides went back-and-forth, but no one could score the basketball. Then, with about five seconds left, the Dubs rebounded a miss by Garrison Mathews, called a timeout, and made sure to get the ball in Curry’s hands. He created a little bit of separation between himself and Kevin Porter Jr. and launched a long two that went through the cylinder as time expired.
STEPHEN CURRY CALLS GAME
His #TissotBuzzerBeater lifts the @warriors! #ThisIsYourTime pic.twitter.com/SCzYCYnKsj
— NBA (@NBA) January 22, 2022
Curry has done dang near everything a person can do in his NBA career, but this was a new one. Never before had Curry had a walk-off like this as a professional, with this marking the first time he’s hit a buzzer-beater to win a game in a Warriors uniform.
That was Stephen Curry’s first career game-winning buzzer-beater
Curry’s game-winning buzzer-beater is the first by a Warriors player since Andre Iguodala on Jan. 3, 2014 against the Hawks (which was assisted by Curry). pic.twitter.com/xKZ6PyhBAi
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 22, 2022
Curry ended the night with 22 points on 6-for-21 shooting from the field and 4-for-13 shooting from three with 12 assists.