It doesn’t always take a 50-point explosion from Steph Curry for the Warriors to win a game.
Two games after that historic performance, Curry proved just that.
The reigning NBA Finals MVP showed off his true ‘Point God’ capabilities in Golden State’s Game 2 blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals Thursday at Chase Center.
He finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 from behind the arc, 12 assists, four rebounds and one steal in 30 minutes. His 12 assists were the most in a playoff game since 2014.
“I think that’s the beauty of Steph, he’s so unselfish,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “Twelve assists tonight, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. I think he knew going into Game 7 in Sacramento that he had to do what he did. He doesn’t have to take on that mentality every single night. Tonight he didn’t.
“He got into the early foul trouble but just the way things were clicking, I think Steph was very content just being a more traditional point guard. Twenty points and 12 assists, that’s a pretty good line for a point guard.”
It makes a point guard’s job much easier when everyone else can help contribute. And Golden State's depth shined bright in the pivotal win Thursday.
All starters and Moses Moody, coming off the bench, finished in double digits, with Klay Thompson leading all scorers with 30 points and eight treys.
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In Game 7 of the Warriors' first-round series against the Kings, Curry took 38 shots and scored 50 points in the win -- the most points ever scored in a Game 7 in NBA history.
On Thursday, he took 12 shots.
Both very different games, with the same result.
After the game, Curry explained why playing the more traditional point guard role was part of the game plan heading into the contest.
"There was a point of emphasis to try and get the ball in my hands a little bit more to start, but the rest of it was just read and react. Taking what’s there," Curry said. "They obviously had a game plan and we tried to make adjustments, I'm sure that will continue throughout the rest of the series. That’s the beauty of what we can do is play a lot of different ways. Try to create offense a lot of different ways using gravity.
"That was connected with our defense, the emphasis on not fouling. Trying to make them earn everything that they got on that end of the floor. Obviously, [LeBron James] came out hot and hit some tough jumpers early but we stuck with the game plan and it played to our favor."
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The Warriors have proven they can win a game in a variety of different ways, and they'll need to pull out all their cards as the best-of-seven series heads down to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4 with the series tied at one game apiece.