GSW 126, LAC 121: Curry's 35-Point Explosion
Maya Chen
UX Designer · Golden State Warriors fan
Steph Goes Nuclear, Warriors Hold Off Late Clippers Push in 126-121 Thriller
Okay, so my dad texted me during the fourth quarter: "Maya, your guy is doing Steph things." That's his way of saying Curry was playing out of his mind, and yeah, understatement of the night. The Warriors squeaked out a five-point win that could've easily gone the other direction if LA tightened up their defense about 90 seconds earlier, but let's talk about what actually happened.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Curry | 49.0 | 42.2 | 35/1/4 | 26.6/3.6/4.7 | +8.4 |
| Kristaps Porziņģis | 50.0 | 41.5 | 20/5/5 | 16.7/5.2/2.5 | +3.3 |
| Darius Garland | 45.0 | 40.0 | 21/5/8 | 18.8/2.4/6.7 | +2.2 |
| Draymond Green | 43.0 | 36.7 | 7/6/9 | 8.4/5.5/5.5 | -1.4 |
| Bennedict Mathurin | 42.0 | 34.6 | 23/3/2 | 17.6/5.4/2.4 | +5.4 |
| Kris Dunn | 42.0 | 33.6 | 7/3/10 | 7.3/3.3/3.6 | -0.3 |
| Brook Lopez | 35.0 | 33.5 | 17/5/1 | 8.5/3.6/1.3 | +8.5 |
| Gui Santos | 37.0 | 32.7 | 20/6/5 | 9.2/3.9/2.3 | +10.8 |
| Brandin Podziemski | 26.0 | 30.4 | 17/7/2 | 13.8/5.1/3.7 | +3.2 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 24.0 | 28.9 | 21/7/3 | 27.9/6.4/3.6 | -6.9 |
The Obvious: Curry Went Nuclear
Stephen Curry dropped 35 on 52% shooting with seven threes. That's 42.2 Yahoo points, which is 8.4 points above his season average. Not breaking news if you watched him, but the efficiency is what matters here. On the season he's been sitting at 26.6 PPG on a 46% clip. Tonight he was hotter than my hot takes group chat. This isn't a "buy low" moment or anything, because everyone already knows Curry is Curry. He's going to have 15 games like this before the playoffs. Just a reminder to any league that had him on the wire somewhere that yeah, you messed up.
Porzingis Did the Heavy Lifting
Here's the underrated part of this win, Kristaps Porzingis went 8-12 from the field and added five assists in only 27 minutes. That's efficient basketball. 41.5 Yahoo points. He's averaging 16.7 PPG and 2.5 APG normally, so +3.3 on points and +2.5 on assists is solid stuff when you're not even in crunch time. The dude was in foul trouble, which limited his minutes, but that actually makes this performance crazier. He's the kind of big man that punishes teams that play small, and LA couldn't get a rhythm tonight.
Draymond Made the Difference on Defense
Draymond Green put up 7/6/9 with four steals. That's 36.7 Yahoo points. The Clippers shot 41% from the field as a team. That's not a typo. That's a Draymond Green Special, where he throws himself in front of every cutoff and forces bad decisions. His +3.5 assist spike versus his season average is the kind of thing that shows up in the box score but doesn't fully capture what he was doing. He was setting the defense the entire game.
Gui Santos Had the Best Relative Night
This one's wild because Gui Santos isn't a regular name in fantasy conversations, but 20/6/5 on 9-13 shooting is objectively incredible. +10.8 on scoring compared to his 9.2 average. That's a 200% night. This is what happens when a guy gets 31 minutes and actually connects on his shots. Don't get too hype and immediately trade for him. This is a one-game heater. But if you're in a deep league and he's available, he's worth monitoring because the Warriors clearly trust him in rotation spots.
Clippers Side: Garland Carried, Mathurin Exceeded
Darius Garland had 21/5/8 and kept the Clippers afloat most of the game. He's averaging 18.8 PPG and 6.7 APG, so this was pretty close to baseline performance. Not a letdown, just steady work from a guy who had to do stuff when things got close.
Bennedict Mathurin went 7-11 with five threes for 23 points in 29 minutes. That's +5.4 on his season scoring average and the kind of efficient night that makes you wonder if he's starting to figure things out. 34.6 Yahoo points is a real number from someone who's been streaky all year.
But here's the thing: Kawhi Leonard shot 8-17 and finished with 21/7/3. That's 28.9 Yahoo points, which is 6.9 points below his season average of 27.9 PPG. On a team that lost by five points, that's the difference. He didn't show up when it mattered most. That's the real story on the Clippers side. You don't lose close games when Kawhi cooks. He didn't cook.
Bottom Line
This was a game where the Warriors' depth and role players showed up hard. Santos going off, Porzingis staying efficient in limited minutes, and Draymond being Draymond. For Clippers managers, this is a "coulda been" night. Garland was solid, Mathurin was excellent, but Kawhi underperformed and nobody else stepped up big enough to overcome Curry's outburst.
If you have Curry, you already know he's a hold forever. If you're in a league where Porzingis or Santos are available, they're worth looks, but I'm not overreacting to one game. The Warriors play the playoffs the same way they play February, and that's with Curry going off every few games and role players eating. That's the entire identity.