John Wall stepped up to give the Wizards one of his best performances in months, so what did he get in return? A front-row seat to the Stephen Curry show. Even with Wall at his best, the Warriors' superstar was better with 51 points in Golden State's 134-121 victory over Washington on Wednesday night.
NBA scores 2016: Stephen Curry and John Wall put on a show in D.C.
Stephen Curry’s second 50-point game of the season, John Wall starring in a losing effort, KD’s game-winner and the rest of the action from NBA Wednesday.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Curry was an absolute machine from the opening tip off. Wall, Garrett Temple and others tried their best to make things difficult on the reigning MVP to no avail. He hit 19 of 28 shots from the field and tied a career high with 11 three-pointers. One more triple would've tied Curry for the NBA's single-game record of 12, which is held by the fascinating duo of Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.
This was what Wall tried to contend with throughout the night. The Wizards point guard hit all three of his three-point attempts, scored a season-high 41 points and dished 10 assists. He kept Washington in the game against a team that routinely crushes its opponents. On most nights, that kind of performance would be the big story. On Wednesday, it’s the footnote to Curry’s latest feat of scoring prowess.
The hot shooting started early with Curry scoring 25 points in the first quarter. He’s had five more 20-point quarters than any other player in the NBA this season, per ESPN Stats & Info. You could tell from the beginning that the 27-year-old was feeling it. Wall seemed to recognize that and up his game, but when you’re trying to go toe to toe with Curry, you’re probably going to lose.
Washington found itself in that rough place. Curry’s first-quarter outburst gave Golden State a 15-point lead that would never go away. It’s almost impossible to beat the Warriors once they’ve extended a lead and found their groove. There’s only so much to do when the opponent is nailing contested threes all over the place:
The Wizards deserve some credit for never giving up. Wall helped cut the Warriors’ lead to 81-79 early in the third quarter. Minutes into the final period, the game was still separated by just a few points. And this is with Curry raining down shots like a video game cheat who stumbled out of your Xbox and onto a basketball court.
But eventually something has to give and it was never going to be Curry on this night. The Warriors seemed destined to score a ridiculous total and basically challenged the Wizards to do the same. Washington had one of its better offensive nights of the season and still lost by double digits.
The big three of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green is just unstoppable. That trio scored 12 straight points down the stretch in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Green scored or assisted on the Warriors' final five buckets of the night to finish with a triple-double (12 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds). Thompson added 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-13 from three.
After the game, Green poured water on Curry to help the scorching shooter cool down.
That's more support than Wall got and helped prove the difference. Bradley Beal scored 18 off the bench for Washington but Wall was the only starter to score double digits. When you're trying to keep up with one of the greatest offenses ever assembled on a night when the game's best shooter is zoned in, that's a recipe for disaster. It's reflective of how well Wall played that the game was even that close.
The Warriors are now 45-4 this season. Their 23 road wins would match or better 13 different teams’ overall win totals. Curry and Golden State are just too good sometimes.
2 other things we learned
So it appears Cleveland hasn't figured out everything under the guidance of Tyronn Lue quite yet. While the team entered Wednesday with a red-hot offense and five-game winning streak, the Hornets came away with a 105-96 victory by shutting down the Cavaliers' offense in the second half.
The Cavs have been racking up wins while forming a new identity since Lue replaced David Blatt last month. The team has focused more on offense and churned out some big scoring numbers as a result. This looked to be another one of those games, too, until the Hornets found some answers on the defensive end.
Charlotte dominated the second half, 57-39, in order to earn the win. Cleveland led by nine points at halftime and seemed well on its way to a sixth straight win. Instead, it was the Hornets adding a chapter to their resurgence story by pulling off the upset. Jeremy Lin was fantastic with 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds in 32 minutes of action. The Hornets also got efficient scooting performances from Frank Kaminsky, who scored 15 on 7-of-8 shooting off the bench, and Marvin Williams, who put up 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
The Cavaliers may be progressing, but losses like this show they’re still ironing out the details.
KD is clutch
The Thunder may have a tough time proving they can beat the Warriors or Spurs until the playoffs actually arrive, but they still look like the greatest threat to the NBA's duopoly. Oklahoma City beat the Magic, 117-114, on Wednesday for its fifth straight victory. The team has won 27 of its past 32 games and continues to boast one of the scariest one-two punches in the league.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were all over the place against Orlando. Durant hit the game-winner just before the buzzer by pulling off a gorgeous crossover on Tobias Harris:
Durant finished with 37 points on 12-of-25 shooting. He was tied with Victor Oladipo for the game high in scoring. Westbrook stuffed the box score with 24 points, 19 rebounds and 14 assists in the kind of effort only he could give. The point guard also committed just two turnovers despite his heavy usage.
OKC still needed a Durant buzzer-beater after all that, which probably isn’t ideal, but he came through to secure the win.
Play of the night
This gets play of the night honors for two reasons: (a) it's an incredibly difficult long-range shot after a chaotic loose ball sequence (b) it's that moment when you're watching ESPN and you realize, "Oh, Steph is going to have one of those nights."
3 fun things
Scores
Hornets 106, Cavaliers 97 (At The Hive recap | Fear The Sword recap)
Hawks 124, 76ers 86 (Peachtree Hoops recap | Liberty Ballers recap)
Celtics 102, Pistons 95 (CelticsBlog recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)
Pacers 114, Nets 100 (Indy Cornrows recap | Nets Daily recap)
Thunder 117, Magic 114 (Welcome To Loud City recap | Orlando Pinstriped Post recap)
Heat 93, Mavericks 90 (Hot Hot Hoops recap | Mavs Moneyball recap)
Spurs 110, Pelicans 97 (Pounding The Rock recap | The Bird Writes recap)
Warriors 134, Wizards 121 (Golden State Of Mind recap | Bullets Forever recap)
Bulls 107, Kings 102 (Blog A Bull recap | Sactown Royalty recap)
Jazz 85, Nuggets 81 (SLC Dunk recap | Denver Stiffs recap)
Timberwolves 108, Clippers 102 (Canis Hoopus recap | Clips Nation recap)
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