Stephen Curry’s 50 points wasted in Warriors’ loss to Suns

Stephen Curry scored an all-time high of 50 points on Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns. However, his efforts went to waste as the Warriors suffered their latest blow — a 130-119 loss to the Suns.

The Golden State Warriors star player, Curry, scored almost half of the team’s overall score. While nine other team players added points combining for 69 points. In addition, the Warriors’ bench contributed just 17 points.

Klay Thompson’s start-of-the-season struggles seem to continue, as he just did 19 points but only hit 6 out of 17. Furthermore, Jordan Poole finished scoreless on the verge of his best games of this season.

Steph with a 50-ball in another road loss to the Suns 😮 pic.twitter.com/ycRgzzSK6C

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 17, 2022

Stephen Curry has done all the work to drag his team to the winning streak. He also tried to take some responsibility as the team leader, so it will be pointless to point fingers at Curry. Especially with the total score, he hit that night. 

While Curry lacked offensive assistance from his team, his teammates were also weak in defense. Steph Curry said, “Forget the road record, we can’t find a sustainable period of success where habits start to form, and we’re in a position where we’re coming off the court feeling good about ourselves.” 

The Warriors’ coaching staff had already spent four weeks discussing and practicing the team to rediscover its defensive mode. But, after weeks, they haven’t learned how to turn on to that mode. During the game, the Suns scored their way to open shots. This includes corner 3-pointers from Torrey Craig and Mikel Bridges. 

The only player to average 30+ points on 50/40/90 shooting was Steph Curry in 2015-16.

He's currently on pace to do it again.

GSW/PHX, 10pm/et, ESPN pic.twitter.com/fMpPJjZrlY

— NBA (@NBA) November 16, 2022

Scoring that 50-point in a game held the record for Curry to be the eighth-oldest player with consecutive 40-point games, following Michael Jordan in 2002. According to ESPN Stats and Information research, the eight-time All-Star hit 17 of 28 shots. He also went for 7-of-11 from a 3-point range. 

However, the Warriors still lost the game by 11 points. Of all the 50-point games Curry has, this is only the third time Golden State Warriors have lost it. Moreover, this is the first game they lost, even with Curry scoring at least 40. This loss also dragged down the team’s history at the start of the season, with a 0-8 record since 1989-90. 

During the Warriors’ post-game conference, “scattered” was mentioned many times. It was a term used to describe the team’s status this season. It portrays the team’s missing connectivity to each and every team member.

Steph goes off with a season-high ⤵️

31 points in a half 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tXL8cIQNin

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 17, 2022

Steve Kerr, the Warriors coach, said there is “no commitment to the group.” He also added that the team doesn’t have the same level of worries about winning. He also claimed that he has “failed” in combining his team together and giving them something they can “collectively shoot for.”

Kerr’s statements confirmed the last game’s outcome, considering the number of points that Curry has put in. Curry said, “I’m scoring great, trying to be efficient, and I will keep doing that. But, there’s a collective mindset around how I need to help everybody get in the right frame of mind to try and win, and I’m up for figuring that out.”

In total, Curry averaged 32.8 points on 53-45-93 shooting splits. Moreover, he is also the only player to average 30 points on a 50-40-90 shooting in a season. He also scored similarly in the 2015-16 game when he won the MVP title. However, even with Curry’s stats, the Warriors still sit in its pitfall of 12th place in the Western Conference with a 6-9 record. 

Steph Curry tonight:

50 points
9 rebounds
6 assists
17/28 FG
7/11 3PT
9/9 FT

Get this man some help pic.twitter.com/aGz93c0bcf

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 17, 2022

When it comes to defensive efficiency, the Warriors rank 27th this season. Last season, the team ranked second. Coach Steve Kerr said, “We lack collective grit. We’re playing a Drew League game right now. I’ve always thought the game rewards you if you commit to the game if you compete together. We’re not earning that.”

Stephen Curry needs assistance

On Monday, before the game against San Antonio, Kerr also said that the Warriors were still searching for momentum. He refers to the presence of momentum when the team connects both on and off the court. After losing to the Suns, he said the team was missing an ability to “put all [off-court] stuff in the backseat and just commit to winning the game.”

Steph Curry also said, “It’s a struggle right now, keeping it real. We have to understand that it’s going to be hard to dig yourself out of the situation we’re in because there are a lot of issues.” Until Curry has found a productive partner from his team, game nights like this will still continue. 

If the Warriors won’t level up on their team struggles, Stephen Curry is the team’s only hope for the offense. He would be a solo-scoring player playing within a team. Until someone from the Warriors’ team steps up to help Curry, the Warriors will have to keep riding the Steph Curry show.