If there was a knock of Stephen Curry's MVP argument, it was his lack of fourth quarter production. Not because he wasn't able to, but so often the Warriors were blowing teams out that he didn't get a chance to.
NBA scores 2015: Stephen Curry ended the MVP race and 3 other things we learned
Curry had a ridiculous 45-point outing.
Game, set, match. Case closed. Thursday was the night Curry won the MVP, if he hadn’t done so already.
He scored 45 points, dished nine assists, shot 23 times and made 17 of them -- the best percentage Curry has ever shot on 20 or more attempts. He hit eight shots behind the arc, breaking the all-time NBA single-season record for made three-pointers in a season. The previous record holder? Curry, of course, who now holds three of the best five three-point shooting seasons in NBA history. A final shooting burst in the fourth quarter -- 19 points on 7-7 shooting -- carried the Warriors to their 64th win of the season, beating the Trail Blazers 116-105.
There has never, ever been a player like this in the NBA. Shots like this shouldn’t be possible.
And every time the Blazers send an extra man at Curry, he'd make a pass and the Warriors would get a layup. Harrison Barnes drove from the three-point line to the rim for an uncontested dunk early in the first quarter because Portland was so scared of Curry. That's when they realized they had to play him straight up, and it almost worked.
And then Steph happened and it was all over in the blink of an eye.
3 other things we learned
Please let this be a playoffs warm up. The Warriors had lost the two games coming into this one, but quickly rectified that to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season. The Trail Blazers played them start to nearly finish until ultimately falling to Curry, but the game as a whole was incredibly well played. The playoffs will be here in about one week -- can every game be like this one, please?
Who hurt you, Miami? The Bulls closed the second quarter on a 29-6 run to crush Miami's playoff hopes. Dwyane Wade scored just nine points on 4-20 shooting. The Heat had just an eight-point third quarter and 27 overall in the second half. Miami has now lost five of their last six games, tumbling from a playoff spot to a game and a half out of the No. 8 seed. It's still a shame Chris Bosh went out, but the Heat's collapse is greater than just him.
Derrick Rose is leading the Bulls again. He's back but not "back," scoring just 12 points on 15 shots. Still, it's good to see Rose leading a fast break and looking active for Chicago. In his absence, the Bulls found ways to survive and Rose doesn't need to disrupt that. Chicago doesn't need MVP Rose right now -- just an above average version that doesn't turn it over too much and can explode for a 15-point quarter now and then. A dunk every now and then would be nice, too.
Hey! Good to see.
Play of the Night
Anything you do, Steph can do better.
2 fun things
Michael Beasley's celebration is ... something.
Final scores
Bulls 89, Heat 78 (Blog a Bull recap | Hot Hot Hoops recap)
Warriors 116, Trail Blazers 105 (Golden State of Mind recap | Blazer’s Edge recap)
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