The Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference semifinals with a 120-100 win on the road against the Sacramento Kings in Game 7 of their first-round series to prevail 4-3.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 50 points, a new NBA record for points scored in a Game 7, including seven three-pointers, which ties the most threes in Game 7 history, a feat the point guard has also achieved twice before. Curry also contributed eight rebounds, a number only bettered by Warriors center Kevon Looney’s 21 boards.
The 50 piece surpasses Curry’s former Warriors teammate Kevin Durant’s previous Game 7 high of 48, set during the 2021 playoffs while playing for the Brooklyn Nets versus the Milwaukee Bucks. Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins and the late Boston Celtics star Sam Jones previously put up 47 points in a Game 7.
Curry’s long-time teammate Klay Thompson, who had an off-shooting night going 4/19 from the field for 16 points, summed it up best when reacting to the historic performance. “There is a reason he is a two-time MVP, a Finals MVP, because he pushes us over the top in moments like this," Thompson said.
"When he's in the zone like that, you try to just get him in his spots, get him the ball and get out of the way. This is a Game 7 I will forever remember as the Steph Curry game."
For the Warriors, long-time foe LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers await in the next round after overcoming the Memphis Grizzlies in six games during their first-round series.
Warriors forward Draymond Green, who has his personal history with James, previewed the most-anticipated match-up of the conference semifinals after overcoming the Kings. "It's going to be epic," Green said. "You got Steph, you got Bron doing it all over again."
Curry and James have previously played against each other 22 times in the playoffs, while the latter was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. All of those meetings came in the NBA Finals, as both players were on teams in the opposite conference, with the Warriors guard holding a 16-7 record in those meetings.
Green, who played in all but one of those games, added: "Here we are eight years later from the first time we met in a playoff series and still playing at that level. That's special. Says a lot about who you are as a pro and how serious you take this. How you appreciate this game.
"You're talking about some ultimate competitors," Green continued. "LeBron is one of the ultimate competitors. Steph, Klay [Thompson], myself. And so to have these opportunities, we don't take for granted."
The Warriors host the series opener at Chase Center on Tuesday, having home-court advantage as the sixth seed up against the seventh-seed Lakers. Whoever advances will meet either Durant and the Phoenix Suns or reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, who currently lead that series 1-0, in the Western Conference Finals.
