Steph Curry catches fire, leads Warriors to thrilling 115-113 win

The Golden State Warriors kept their perfect season going on Thursday night, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 115-113 to move to 2-0 on the year, following a 5-0 preseason.

And after beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in a game where Steph Curry uncharacteristically struggled shooting the ball, the Warriors turned to their tried and true method of victory on Thursday: with a Curry flurry.

The Chef had the best offensive performance of the young NBA season, and that’s without mentioning what happened in the final three quarters. Curry came out of the gates firing, knocking down all nine of his shots in the first quarter, and finishing the frame with 25 points — four more than in the entire series opener.

It was poetry mixed with a grab bag of fireworks.

That helped the Warriors jump out to an early 19-point lead, and it seemed like they might cruise to a victory.

But then things went cold. Ice cold. The Warriors couldn’t make a bucket to close out the second quarter, and Paul George did his best Curry impression. Somehow, just moments after dominating, the Warriors found themselves trailing 67-66 as the teams headed to the halftime lockers.

The third quarter became an ugly slog fest. The teams went back and forth, trading not just baskets but turnovers, awkward fouls, silly mistakes, and flailing bodies. Neither team gained rhythm or traction, and the Warriors trailed by three entering the final frame.

From there, things got worse before they got better. With Curry on the bench the Warriors offense couldn’t buy a bucket, and they fell behind 98-90. Then, out of nowhere — and with everything as sloppy as before — they managed to rattle off nine straight points to take the lead.

And then it was back and forth and back and forth to the very end, with the Warriors pulling out the dramatic win to keep their perfection on ice. The Warriors trailed by two points with two minutes left, before a deep Curry three gave them a one-point lead.

They trailed by one point with one minute left, before another deep Curry three gave them a two-point lead.

They were clinging to that lead on their final normal possession, when Draymond Green finished through heavy contact with the shot clock running down and just 11.6 seconds left. Some Curry game-icing free throws later, and win No. 2 was in the books.

Curry finished with 45 points on 16-for-25 shooting, including 8-for-13 from deep. He grabbed 10 rebounds for the second straight game, and had some nice defensive possessions.

Damion Lee once again came up big, playing 29 minutes off the bench, and chipping in 11 points, many of which came in the game’s biggest moments. Green struggled with his free throws but looked strong finishing, shooting 4-for-5 to fill up the box score with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.

The Dubs look good, and they look deep.

And they’re 2-0.