Stephen Curry Drops 38 as Kevin Durant, Warriors Defeat Bradley Beal, Wizards

Stephen Curry had 38 points on 14-of-24 shooting as the Golden State Warriors beat the Washington Wizards 126-118 on Thursday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Steph's 38 Leads Dubs Past Wizards

Trevor Ariza led the 20-27 Wizards with 27 points. Bradley Beal added 22 points and 10 rebounds.

The 34-14 Warriors have won nine straight.

Don't Forget About Steph in the MVP Race

Houston Rockets guard James Harden is at the forefront of NBA MVP talk given his torrid stretch (52.2 points per game over his last five and 43.1 points in his last 21). 

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is in the conversation as well thanks to his stellar play and his team's rapid improvement.

But if Curry keeps his hot streak going, then he's going to insert himself into the MVP race.

In 2015-16, Curry made 50 percent of his field goals, 40 percent of his threes and 90 percent of his free throws. He won the MVP that season running away en route to leading the Warriors to a 73-9 record.

Curry looks like he can post another rare 50/40/90 campaign in 2018-19. Entering Thursday, he had the three-pointers (44.8 percent) and free throws (92.7 percent) on lockdown. He's also not far off from hitting half of his field goals (48.8 percent) and is the only player in the Association this year with a realistic shot at the feat, which has only been done by six others.

Furthermore, Curry has come through in pivotal matchups. In a resounding 31-point victory over the Denver Nuggets, Curry dropped 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting in just 29 minutes. He also had a near-triple-double in the season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 32 points, eight boards and nine assists. Denver and Oklahoma City round out the top three in the West behind the first-place Warriors.

If you're of the mind that the MVP should be the best player on the best team, then the answer is Curry or Antetokounmpo. Curry's 26.7 player efficiency rating heading into Thursday leads the Warriors, who are just two games behind the Bucks in the loss column. At this point, the Warriors look like they're about to dominate the NBA with DeMarcus Cousins in the paint, so they could end up with the league's best record by the end.

Of course, Harden's unbelievable individual dominance makes him the clear front-runner right now. But if the Warriors stay hot, Curry creeps over the 50/40/90 line and Harden comes back to earth, then the Warriors' floor general could make a bigger stamp on the MVP race.

Kerr Is Right: Warriors Don't Have 4 All-Stars

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Thursday that he didn't think the Warriors would have four All-Stars this season.

He's probably right. Curry and Kevin Durant are already All-Star starters, with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green waiting to see if they get called.

Thompson looks like he's on the borderline, but he could be on the right side given his recent hot stretch. From Dec. 29 to Jan. 21, he averaged 26.2 points per game on 55.4 percent shooting. That makes him tough to ignore.

But the eight-year veteran has struggled with his shot at times, and despite a recent hot streak, he's posted his lowest field-goal percentage mark in four seasons and his worst three-point percentage rate as a pro.

Oddly enough, Thompson only finished 11th in the player voting for Western Conference guards. The league's 30 head coaches pick the reserves, but it's noteworthy that people directly involved in the Association ranked Thompson outside the top 10. If coaches are on the same wavelength, then Thompson will be out.

Green looks like a remote possibility at best. He missed 14 games near the beginning of the season and was only shooting 41.0 percent (20.0 percent from three-point range) through his first 17 games.

On the flip side, some of his other numbers are about on par with his averages since becoming a full-time starter (Green had 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game leading into Thursday). He's also No. 1 among power forwards in defensive real plus-minus for the fifth time in six seasons, per ESPN.

Still, the frontcourt competition Green faces is particularly brutal, to the point where any red marks on an All-Star resume stand out even more. Of note, New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic are locks to go to Charlotte in February, and Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Doncic is making it very difficult for anyone to keep him away from the game given his significant role in turning his team's fortunes around (24-58 last year, 21-26 this year).

If the All-Star voting process only took into account the last 12 games of the season, then the Golden State Warriors would have four on the All-Star court. If not for a 44-point triple-double and game-winning three-pointer with one second left from Harden in a 135-134 loss to the Rockets, the Warriors would have taken 12 straight and counting thanks to the entire team's stellar play.

Ultimately, Green (and perhaps Thompson) may be on the outside looking in, but their All-Star resumes pale in comparison to the team's recent dominance. The Warriors look like they are well on their way to another championship, and they won't need four All-Star performers to get there.

What's Next?

The Wizards begin a three-game road trip against the Orlando Magic on Friday. The Warriors continue a five-game road swing versus the Boston Celtics on Saturday.