LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Stephen Curry bounced back from a bout of stomach flu in impressive style on Wednesday, his three-point barrage pacing the Golden State Warriors’ 126-111 rout of the Charlotte Hornets in Oakland.
Curry drained 11 of the Warriors’ 21 three-pointers en route to 39 points.
The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player had missed the Warriors’ game on Sunday, traveling to Portland but staying in his hotel room because of illness.
After taking Monday off he returned to practice on Tuesday and he showed no sign of any lingering effects as he unloaded on the team from his hometown.
His long-range bomb 23 seconds into the contest gave the Warriors a lead they would stretch to as many as 32.
Teammate Klay Thompson made six from beyond the arc to score 29 points and tied a career-best with eight assists.
“The cool thing about tonight was we both got started hot,” Curry said of himself and Thompson. “The flow was perfect. Everyone was involved. It got contagious.”
Draymond Green led all rebounders with 10, but found time to make two three-pointers himself while Kevin Durant and reserve Patrick McCaw had one apiece.
Durant finished with 18 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, but it was Curry who seized the spotlight in 30 minutes on the floor before sitting out all of the fourth quarter.
He passed Rashard Lewis to move into 12th place on the NBA’s all-time list of three-pointers made with 1,792. Retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is number 11, with 1,827.
“He hit a couple of threes that had to be 30 feet,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of Curry. “There’s a lot of shots that are made that are not defendable. There’s not a lot you can do.”
Curry’s 39 points came without benefit of a single free throw. In fact, he didn’t go to the foul line once.
“Yeah, it’s weird when these nights happen,” said Curry, who recalled a 51-point performance last February in Orlando in which he had just one free throw attempt.
“When you get it all from the field you can get into a rhythm and make all kinds of shots.”
© 1994-2017 Agence France-Presse
