Rockets assistant John Lucas is all of us watching this Stephen Curry dagger.
The Golden State Warriors had not won a road game all season when they traveled to Houston to take on the rebuilding Rockets on Sunday night. The Warriors’ 0-8 mark away from the Chase Center was one of the biggest reasons the defending champs had stumbled out of the gates to begin the new season, and it looked like the trend might continue after the Rockets blasted Golden State in the second quarter to take a halftime lead.
With the Warriors staring down what would have been their worst loss of the season, their two franchise icons in the backcourt came to their rescue. Klay Thompson, who has been so maligned early in this season, popped off for 41 points on 10-of-13 shooting from three-point range to carry the offense. When the Warriors needed one last bucket in the final minute, it was Stephen Curry’s turn to deliver the final dagger. Curry juked Eric Gordon on the perimeter and hit a ridiculous fadeaway three-pointer to ice the win. Watch a video of the shot here:
NIGHT, NIGHT! OMG STEPH pic.twitter.com/oTqbMZVb9c
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 21, 2022
The Warriors beat the Rockets, 127-120, for their third win in the last four games. Thompson may have been the star of the night, but Curry still finished with 33 points and 15 assists in the win.
The best part of the clip might be the reaction from Rockets assistant John Lucas. Lucas is a 69-year-old who has spent a lifetime around the game as a player and coach. Few players from his generation have had as much longevity and influence in the game. Lucas has legitimately seen it all on a basketball court, and even he couldn’t believe Steph’s shot.
John Lucas's reaction to Steph Curry's bonkers 3 lollll pic.twitter.com/F5qHpXu3NB
— Nathan Fogg (@NathanFogg1) November 21, 2022
It’s also easy to wonder what’s going through Gordon’s head on that shot. Gordon and Curry have had so many battles over the years, including the epic 2018 Western Conference Finals. He’s had a front row seat for so many of Steph’s greatest moments, but not in a good way.
The Warriors are still under .500 at the moment. It’s definitely concerning that they need vintage Steph performances almost every night to have a chance. If Thompson can use this game to get right, that would go a long way to answering a lot of the team’s questions. For now, we can all just marvel at Steph, just like John Lucas.
