The Warriors dropped a heartbreaker Wednesday night to the Los Angeles Lakers in the play-in tournament.
After he racked up 37 points (12-for-23 from the field, 6-for-9 on 3s) and seven rebounds, Steph Curry summed things up perfectly.
"Right now it sucks," he told the media.
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But Curry then offered some great perspective.
"Missed this type of environment," he said. "It was a lot of fun. High intensity, high competitive level."
Later in his postgame Zoom session, he was asked about being back on the big stage again.
"It was awesome," the three-time NBA champion said. "I was even telling Jordan Bell on the bench in the middle of the third quarter -- 'I missed this.' It had been almost two years since we were in a game that had those type of consequences.
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"It's what you live for. It's what you work so hard for. It brings out the best in you in terms of your competitiveness and your energy and all that. I love it."
And now Steph and his teammates get to do it again Friday night in a win-or-go-home showdown against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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If the Warriors win, they open their best-of-seven first-round playoff series vs. the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
If the Warriors lose, their season is over.