Warriors star Steph Curry just wants to have fun playing basketball.
That is the attitude he took into Golden State's blowout win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday at Chase Center, which was just the team's fifth victory in 14 games. The Warriors' recent struggles are beginning to weigh on Curry after starting the 2024-25 NBA season 12-3, coach Steve Kerr believes, and it helped power a fearless performance.
Curry let loose on the court, as evidenced by his celebration after scoring the game's first bucket against the 76ers with a slick move on Joel Embiid.
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"It was just what Steph did on his own," Kerr told 95.7 The Game's "Willard and Dibs" on Friday of Curry's fist pump. "He told a couple of the coaches before the game that he was going to have fun no matter what tonight. I think he's been feeling a lot of the strain that comes with being the leader of the team and having our struggles as a group.
"I think he really wanted to show the rest of the guys like, 'Let's go out and let it rip and have some fun tonight.' So, I think he was just sort of sending that message in a good way. And the guys loved it on the bench. They got a good laugh out of it."
This Steph pump fake on Embiid >>
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Curry went on to have a historic 30-point shooting night and led Golden State to a win, improving the team's record to 17-16 as the Western Conference's No. 10 seed. The 36-year-old shot a perfect 8 of 8 from 3-point range in Thursday's victory, becoming the first player in NBA history to do so and dish out 10 assists in the same game.
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It was a great offensive night as a whole for the Warriors, too, who tallied a season-high 41 assists in the win while shooting 60.9 percent from the field and 56.4 percent from deep.
"We needed it," Kerr told "Willard and Dibs" of Golden State's shooting performance. "I mean, there's no secret -- we have not made shots, really, the entire month of December. So just one of those weird things that can happen occasionally to a team where you get into a team-wide slump, and we've played so many close games this year, I think more than any team in the league.
"And obviously shots have to go in, but you also don't want to feel like the guys are pressing, and you don't want to put too much pressure on anybody. So, we're just trying to let it all play out, let it happen. But our guys are good shooters. We know we can do what we did last night more often, and I'm excited to see it happen."
Kerr said there was "relief" in the Warriors' locker room after the win. And certainly, thanks to Curry's efforts and attitude, a little more joy.