Stephen Curry: From doubted to champ, Warriors clinch 8th seed

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Stephen Curry just won the scoring title of this 2020-21 season scoring 46 points in the final game of this regular NBA season.

Golden State Warriors faced off Memphis Grizzlies for the final match with the 8th seed at stake.

With brilliant scoring from the former two-time MVP Stephen Curry, GSW defeated Memphis 113-101.

The win secured the eighth seed for the Warriors, who will now face the seventh seed yet to be determined.

To get where Steph and the Warriors are now.

Considering the changes with many young new players, injuries, different rotations, and lineups, it was not an easy job.

The last five years were a rollercoaster ride for the Warriors as they went from being the best teams to being one of the worst in a short span.

They were in the finals of the 2018-19 season, where they lost Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to injuries.

And Durant signed with Brooklyn Nets, and Klay missed two years for rehab.

The Warriors struggled throughout the 2019-20 season with young new players, Steph’s recurring injuries, and Draymond alone couldn’t carry the team. Ultimately, the Warrior’s season ended with a league-worst record of 15-50.

The 2020-21 season was no different.

We are starting the season with two straight losses—no more than two consecutive wins for most seasons.

But four straight losses many times. This all caused many to doubt whether Golden State Warriors can clinch even a play-in spot, let alone a playoff spot.

They even lost with a 40-points deficit, the worst in the franchise once that also gave many benefits of the doubt. 

Moreover, many doubted Stephen Curry‘s ability to carry the Golden State Warriors team with a new roster and constant changes.

Stephen Curry was doubted from the start of his basketball career, whether in high school or the NBA.

But he proved everyone wrong with his incredible shooting abilities, which even changed the basketball game.

The one who created many records and broke many of those won the NBA championship three times and MVP two times in a row, one unanimous.

He doubted again. Many thought this year was the year when Stephen Curry was exposed.

But Steph proved all his doubters wrong again with his insane shooting abilities.

On the way, he even broke records, made some of them, and ultimately won this season’s scoring title, beating Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards.

He secured his scoring title in the first quarter of today’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies and also helped the Warriors score the 8th seed in the Western Conference.

The Memphis had a good start in the first quarter.

Dillon Brooks drives by Andrew Wiggins, dropping a layup to start the first quarter.

Draymond Green’s lob for Wiggins gives the Warriors their first bucket.

Kevon Looney’s dunk brings the game 5-2 with about 10 minutes left to play.

Soon Memphis takes 6 points to lead over the Warriors with 8:34 on the clock.

Then Ja Morant answered back after the Green’s bucket.

She was followed by Jaren Jackson Jr.’s three-pointer that gave a 9-points lead to the Grizzlies.

The first quarter is not looking suitable for the Warriors as the Grizzlies answered back every Warriors’ bucket.

Halfway into the first quarter, the Warriors finally found the rhythm with Green’s bucket and Juan Toscano-Anderson’s three-pointer right after that.

But the Grizzlies again found their way back to the buckets.

With 4:19 left in the quarter, the game was 21-15, with Green dunking it down for the Warriors.

Jonas Valanciunas reversed jumper gave the bucket right back for the Grizzlies.

Then Stephen Curry drove straight to the rim on the other end and laid it in for the Warriors.

He again dropped a jumper in the next possession bringing the game within two points with three and a half remaining in the quarter.

Morant answered right back, to which Curry answered with a step-back three-pointer bringing the game 25-24.

The shot clinched the 2020-21 NBA scoring title for Stephen Curry and the Warriors.

Steph then blocked Valanciunas keeping the Warriors within one point.

Jordan Poole scored a jumper on Looney’s pass with under a minute left to play.

And Steph scored a layup to give the Warriors the first lead of the night and ended the quarter with a point lead.

The Warriors take the lead in the second quarter.

They entered the quarter finishing the first 30-29.

De’ Anthony Melton scored Memphis’s first bucket in the second quarter.

They trailed the Warriors by four points with eight and a half left to play.

Jordan Poole to Kevon Looney for the dunk extended the Warrior’s lead by six points.

Then Poole scored a step-back three-pointer to give the Warriors a nine-point lead for the first time in the game.

This shot excited the Warriors, including Stephen.

Kyle Anderson then scored a jumper for Memphis, and Poole answered right back with a jumper.

But the Grizzlies soon came within three points with about five minutes left into the quarter.

They then cut the lead to one point right after that.

Steph then scored a layup back-to-back.

Andrew Wiggins then scored a three-pointer.

They went back and forth, scoring the buckets with the Warriors five points ahead with about two minutes left in the quarter.

The Warriors took 9 points to lead with 1:13 left in the quarter.

The second quarter ended 49-55, with the Warriors taking 6 points advantage.

The Warriors dominate the third.

Andrew Wiggins opened the quarter with a three-pointer.

Then Steph caught a rebound from missed layup and dropped a three-pointer on the other end.

This gave the Warriors 11 points lead.

Memphis hit back-to-back shots and started a 7-0 run before Andrew dropped a three-pointer on Looney’s pass.

Curry hit a side-step three, bringing the game 58-63 with 7:39 left in the quarter.

He hit another three-pointer on Green’s pass right after that.

Morant hit the bucket after that, and Steph answered right back with a floater.

Curry drew a foul and dropped a layup, giving the Warriors a 16-points lead with 4:44 left in the clock for the quarter.

Memphis cut the lead to 13 points, but soon Curry dropped a bucket from behind the arc to give the Warriors 15 points lead.

The quarter ended 69-86 with Poole hitting a three-pointer from the corner.

Memphis almost makes a comeback.

Memphis started the fourth quarter on Brooks’ jumper and layup on the next possession.

Steph hits a three-pointer, but Brooks draws a foul, dropping a layup, tying the game 91-91 with 6:32 remaining in the quarter.

Brooks then fouled Green which gave the two-point lead to the Warriors.

Valanciunas’s bucket right after that again tied the game.

Memphis took the lead for the first after two quarters with 4:31 left on the clock.

But Poole hits a three-pointer on Steph’s pass, giving the Warriors the lead right back.

Wiggins then dunks Steph’s three-point miss bringing the game 97-100 with 3:20 left.

This time Steph hits a three-pointer extending the lead to six points.

He then hits another three-pointer right after that and another one giving the Warriors 12 points lead with only a minute and a half left to play.

Morant hits a three-pointer as a consolation with 9.7 seconds left.

The game ended with the Warriors defeating the Grizzlies 113-101 and clinching the eighth spot.

Stephen from doubted to scoring title champion.

At the start of the season, many thought that the Warriors were doomed and they won’t be able to make it to the play-ins.

They even doubted Steph’s legacy, but this past month the Warriors and Steph have been doing a great job that no one could’ve imagined.

They defeated top-seeded teams from both the conferences, clinched a play-in spot, broke records, and made records.

And all these are due to one player that many doubted, Stephen Curry.

He is unstoppable.

This season he is on Fire and even better than any other season.

Ultimately tonight, he not only emerged victorious over Memphis, he even secured the scoring title this season in the first quarter of the game.

Curry becomes the 19th player in NBA history to win multiple scoring titles.

Steph became the second player to win the scoring title after age 33, right behind Michael B. Jordan in 1998.

He also dropped a fantastic score in the final game of this season.

Steph finished the night with 46 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists, along with 9 threes.

Four threes in the third quarter and three consecutive three-pointers in the final few minutes of the fourth secured the win for the Warriors.

He yelled to the Chase Center crowd and lifted his shirt after hitting three consecutive three-pointers, doing the Baron Davis celebration.

The Warriors fan even shouted an MVP chant at the Chase Center for Steph’s final free throws.

Even though he has a long way to go this season, he deserved every bit of that celebration and praise for all his hard work.

The Main starters did a great job.

 

Besides Stephen, every other Warrior tonight deserved the celebration for their role in the win.

This game featured only eight of the best players from the Warriors, which powered the season’s longest winning streak.

Starters also played a great job in helping Stephen.

Among them, Andrew Wiggins dropped 21 points and 10 rebounds double-double.

The Warrior’s star defender Draymond Green dropped 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists.

His imaginative play lured Brooks into committing the sixth foul, causing his ejection and giving Curry back-to-back-to-back 3s.

“Draymond turned that water off using his IQ,” Juan Toscano-Anderson said. “Drawing a foul is a smart play.”

Besides that imaginative play, Draymond and Steph’s combo was too much to handle for the Grizzlies.

This all comes from their long history together.

“Myself and Draymond, we’ve been around for a while and seen a little bit of everything,” Curry said. “The patience and the perseverance through the season with a lot of new faces, a lot of young guys, a lot of injuries, a lot of different rotations, different lineups. I’m proud of how we’ve led this charge and set a standard of winning basketball.”

The Warriors are improving even more.

Meanwhile, Jordan Poole led the Warriors bench with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist.

Besides them, other Warriors also played well and are improving even more in the past few games.

“We could feel our team improving and coming together a couple of months back,” Kerr said. “We knew the schedule started to shift in favor of us.”

Kerr added, “We had some tough stretches like everybody does every year, but we just felt like if we could hang in there, these last 20 games would be a chance for us to make a real push.”

The Warriors finished this regular season 39-33 and secured the 8-spot in the play-in tournament.

They will face the 7-seed L.A. Lakers, who defeated the Pelicans on Wednesday, as they start their journey in the NBA’s first-ever play-in tournament.

Memphis is scoring today.

On the other hand, Memphis, who faced Stephen for the first time in the last two years, learned the hard way in today’s game.

Despite the loss, the Grizzlies advance to the play-in tournament as the No. 9 seed and will host the 10th-seeded San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at FedExForum. 

But to advance to the playoffs, Memphis must win back-to-back elimination games. If they beat the Spurs, the second game will come on the road against either the Warriors or the No. 7 seed, the Lakers.

The Grizzlies did everything in their hands to defeat the Warriors with the help of the sharp shooting from Jonas Valanciunas and Dillon Brooks.

Brooks, at one point, almost single-handedly brought the Grizzlies back from a 17-point third-quarter deficit. He tied the score at 91 with a driving layup and free throw.

But he walked to the bench after picking his sixth foul 20 seconds later.

Therefore finished the night with 18 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 assists.

Jonas Valanciunas led Memphis scoring 29 points and 16 rebounds double-double.

Ja Morant scored 16 points, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds.

Jaren Jackson Jr. dropped 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Kyle Anderson dropped 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

 

 

Bikram Jirel
Bikram Jirel

Bikram Jirel

Bikram Jirel is a versatile editor and writer with a deep-seated passion for sports and storytelling. With a keen understanding of audience preferences and trends, he crafts compelling narratives that captivate readers and offer unique perspectives on the world of sports.

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