Stephen Curry Passes James Harden in MVP Race and Other Saturday NBA Takeaways
Stephen Curry isn't just the NBA's most dominant point guard. He's also a polished debate team captain.
As the Golden State Warriors (32-6) blitzed the Houston Rockets 131-106 on Saturday night, Curry took an emphatic lead and made a convincing closing argument in the league's MVP race, all but relegating James Harden to the status of first runner-up in an assertive outing.
Over the course of 33 minutes, Curry tormented Houston and its sixth-ranked scoring defense to the tune of 27 points (9-of-18 shooting), 11 assists, seven rebounds and three steals. According to GSWStats on Twitter, Curry sits in exclusive company as it pertains to double-doubles of the highest caliber this season:
Comparatively, Harden finished with 12 points (4-of-15 shooting), four rebounds, four assists and three turnovers in 30 minutes.
The beautiful components of Curry's performance were bountiful. Not only did Steph finish a team-best plus-25 operating as Golden State's fulcrum on both ends of the floor, but he ran circles around the Rockets inside the arc.
Instead of hounding the Rockets (28-13) with his lethal flick of the wrist from distance, a variety of tough-angled runners, floaters and layups proved just how potent the Warriors' floor general can be when imitating Harden's most aggressive interior stylings.
During a prolific third quarter in which Curry finished with 15 points, he consistently barreled below the free-throw line en route to prosperity, as ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss noted:
Rockets head coach Kevin McHale touched on his team's inability to slow down the Warriors after halftime when speaking with reporters following the loss, according to ClutchFans:
All told, the Warriors outscored the Rockets 38-21 in the third frame, thanks in part to some ambitious finishes at the rim from Curry:
As a symbol of Curry's top-to-bottom rule over Houston, he added insult to injury by taking a charge on Harden with 1:44 remaining in the third as the Bearded One picked up his fourth foul of the night.
Slicing and dicing Houston's interior defense every which way, Curry punctuated a signature excursion with one of the most graceful no-look dimes you'll ever see:
The race for Most Valuable Player honors isn't over just yet. At the season's midway point, it'd be foolish to think so.
But with Golden State in possession of a 3-0 series lead and Curry outscoring Harden in two of those three contests, the latter's margin for error has narrowed considerably.
The good news for Harden is he won't have much time to stew over Saturday's shortcomings.
After just three days apart, the Rockets and Warriors are slated to do battle Wednesday evening at 10:30 p.m. ET as Golden State aims for a sweep of the season series.
Around the Association
Korver Fires Atlanta Past Chicago
Despite a second straight double-double from Derrick Rose (23 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds), the Chicago Bulls weren't able to conquer the invincible Atlanta Hawks, who came out on top, 107-99, in the Windy City.
In helping the Hawks capture their 12th straight win, Kyle Korver dropped a game-high 24 points while knocking down a season-high seven threes (on nine attempts). As Grantland's Zach Lowe put it, Korver is just inducing bouts of speechlessness these days:
His shot chart since Jan. 11 is also the stuff of legends, as noted by Rotoworld.com's Michael Gallagher:
Atlanta also continued sharing the ball at an absolutely absurd pace, assisting on 77.5 percent of its made field goals. Within that balanced effort, four Hawks finished in double figures, including Al Horford, who dropped 22 points (11-of-14 shooting) to go with nine rebounds and four assists.
As Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick explained, Atlanta shouldn't be projected to slow down any time soon:
Memphis Outlasts Portland in Elite Western Clash
The Portland Trail Blazers outscored the Memphis Grizzlies 56-42 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit.
Following two straight losses, Memphis has ripped off four straight wins after escaping with a 102-98 victory Saturday evening. The Blazers, meanwhile, have dropped three straight.
Wes Matthews scored 25 points (7-of-14 shooting from three) and made franchise history while doing so:
LaMarcus Aldridge topped all scorers with 32 points, but his primary counterpart Zach Randolph (20 points, 15 rebounds) entered esteemed territory on the glass, according to Grizzlies PR's Ross Wooden:
Courtney Lee and Beno Udrih were superb in the win, tallying 17 points apiece. Udrih drilled all seven of his field-goal attempts and pulled down seven boards starting in place of the injured Mike Conley (ankle soreness).
Charlotte's Gunning for the No. 8 Seed
It wasn't pretty. Ugly might even be generous. But without Kemba Walker (knee), the Charlotte Hornets eked out an 80-71 overtime victory against the Indiana Pacers.
Yes, that feeble tally took 53 minutes to finalize.
"The Hornets (80) and Pacers (71) combined for 151 points, the fewest in an OT game in the shot clock era (via @eliassports).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 18, 2015"
With the win, the Hornets now sit one game back of the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets, who fell to the Washington Wizards, 99-90, at Barclays Center.
Lance Stephenson played just 20 minutes off the bench against his former team, managing 13 points, four rebounds, three turnovers and two assists as the Hornets captured their sixth win in seven tries since Jan. 3.
After splitting a home-and-home with Washington, Brooklyn has now lost eight of its last nine and is in serious danger of falling out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Wiggins Pads His Rookie of the Year Credentials
The Minnesota Timberwolves have now won two of their last three games after Andrew Wiggins scorched the Denver Nuggets behind a career-high 31 points (11-of-17 shooting), nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks in a 113-105 triumph.
According to The Wall Street Journal's Chris Herring, Wiggins has been simply ravaging defenses of late:
Minnesota shot 53.8 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from three as all five starters finished in double figures. Mo Williams (13 points) dropped at least 10 points in his fourth straight game while Thaddeus Young tacked on 22 points, six boards and five assists in a complete showing.
The Wheels Continue to Turn in Detroit
The Detroit Pistons weren't ready to be embarrassed twice. Although the Philadelphia 76ers squeaked past the Josh Smith-plagued version of Stan Van Gundy's club on Dec. 6, Detroit gained the upper hand Saturday night with a convincing 107-89 throttling of the Sixers.
Now 11-2 since waiving Smith, the Pistons are a mere game back of the Nets and sit tied with the Hornets at 16-25.
Riding the hot hand of Kyle Singler (20 points, 6-of-8 shooting from three), Detroit knocked down 42.9 percent (15-of-35) of its looks from beyond the arc while besting Philadelphia 17-10 in transition. According to Basketball-Reference it was just the second time all season Detroit attempted at least 35 triples.
Michael Carter-Williams led the way for the Sixers with 15 points, six assists and four turnovers, but Philadelphia's league-worst offense continued to sputter due to a lack of firepower from deep (25 percent shooting from three).
Thompson Sees 20/20, But Clippers Best Kings
With DeMarcus Cousins (ankle) sidelined, Jason Thompson had a night to remember as the Sacramento Kings fell to the Los Angeles Clippers, 117-108.
Thompson finished with 23 points and 22 rebounds—the first 20-point, 20-rebound game of his career, according to Basketball-Reference.
Blake Griffin was stellar throughout, too, compiling 30 points (11-of-16 shooting), five rebounds and five assists. He has now scored at least 30 points in back-to-back games and ranks No. 4 overall this season with nine games of more than 30 points, according to Basketball-Reference. Only Harden, Anthony Davis and LeBron James have more.
Matt Barnes also tied a season high with 26 points (including 22 in the first half) on 10-of-15 shooting (4-of-9 from three).
Just for Kicks
First, Warriors forward Andre Iguodala channeled his inner Cristiano Ronaldo with a skilled right-footed boot to Corey Brewer's loose shoe in the first half:
And then it was famed Nuggets mascot Rocky going sneaker shopping courtside at Pepsi Center:
