How is this man not an All-Star? Stephen Curry scored 54 points, the most in the NBA in more than six years. He hit eleven 3-pointers on 13 attempts. With David Lee suspended for the previous night’s wrestling match, Curry played all 48 minutes and very nearly won the game singlehandedly.
The Knicks needed three tremendous performances to prevail. Carmelo Anthony (35 PTS, 8 REB) and J.R. Smith (26 PTS, 5 REB) did the scoring while Tyson Chandler (16 PTS) completely dominated the glass with a career-high 28 rebounds, 13 in the first quarter alone.
Our colleague James Park assembled reactions from other NBA players. My favorite tweet came from Donte Greene, who pointed out that Steph got fined $35,000 (about one game’s salary) for being tossed to the ground by Roy Hibbert. That means he played for free last night.
Oh, and I used Curry in two 3-man Snake leagues at DraftStreet. Both teams won. Don’t forget to join tomorrow’s Sheridan Hoops Freeroll, a great introduction to daily fantasy hoops and a challenge even for so-called experts.
Other February 27 Game Recaps
SAC @ ORL: Put down your coffee, stop reading this, and add Tobias Harris to your fantasy team. (Then come back.) The sophomore forward was the best Orlando player on the floor — 23 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL — in his 31 minutes off the bench. He looks like a great return in the J.J. Redick trade. Jameer Nelson (knee) missed another game, and the rest of the Magic looked tired; they were down 67-44 at halftime. The Kings surprisingly maintained their energy from that double-overtime loss the night before in Miami. John Salmons (21 PTS, 5 AST) and Marcus Thornton (20 PTS, 8 REB) led seven players in double figures as the fourth quarter was garbage time.
TOR @ CLE: Well, my guess about Andrea Bargnani playing better away from the Toronto boobirds was wrong. He’s terrible everywhere, his confidence shattered. DeMar DeRozan (34 PTS, 5 REB) and Rudy Gay (24 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST) played well enough, but the Raptors blew another chance to beat a weak opponent and are now six games behind Milwaukee for the final playoff spot. Without Kyrie Irving (knee) for the second straight night, the Cavs got 23 points from Dion Waiters and 39 from their bench to win convincingly.
DET @ WAS: Not only did Brandon Knight return from his sore knee, he scored a career-high 32 points (including five triples) to spark the Pistons out of their slump. Greg Monroe was terrific up front — 26 PTS, 11 REB, 4 STL — and Jose Calderon dished out 18 assists. The Wizards didn’t play nearly as well as they have been recently. John Wall (6 PTS, 4 AST) turned it over six times in 24 minutes, so Bradley Beal (16 PTS, 6 REB, 3 STL) cooled off a bit. Their best effort came from sixth man Trevor Ariza (22 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL) though he shot an airball in the final seconds on a potential game-winner.