'Incredible' Curry flips 'switch,' propels Warriors late against Nets - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry stepped out on the court two hours ahead of tipoff against the Brooklyn Nets — about 45 minutes ahead of his normal warmup time slot.

He went through the exact same routing — pointing up in the stands with assistant coach Bruce Frasier, taking shots all the way from half-court, and finishing with a soccer-inspired dribble routine. But, switching up his timing was a big change. One he thought was needed.

«It was just a call of just trying to get some space before the game, a little more time to get right, and it paid off,» Curry said.

Curry fueled Golden State to a much-needed 124-120 win over the Nets, finishing with 37 points on 14-of-22 shooting, including 6-of-8 from three. He also surpassed the 3,500-made 3-pointers mark.

His most important stretch came several hours after his early warm-up — about five minutes into the fourth quarter. On the brink of losing another double-digit lead, Curry erupted for 10 points in one minute and 40 seconds, breathing life back into a team that looked to be losing its pulse.

«Steph has had to carry this team, let's be honest,» Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. «And then the Draymond news, he was emotionally spent the last few days. And it was a slow start tonight. Then, as he's done so often, he flipped the switch. You can kind of see when it happens right away. And he was incredible.»

The Warriors ballooned to an 18-point lead in the first half — but slow starts haven't been this team's issue lately. It's been the second quarter and closing minutes.

And it looked to be heading in the direction of another poor fate in the third quarter. And then even more so in the fourth. The same issues were hurting Golden State — ill-advised