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Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry failed to score a first-half basket for the first time in five years during Tuesday’s 123-112 win over the Washington Wizards.
Curry was held scoreless in the first half for the first time in the regular season since November 23, 2012, when he drew blank against the Denver Nuggets.
He missed his first seven sH๏τs against the Wizards, six of which were from three-point range. And to make matters worse three of them were airballs, although one was a 32-foot heave at the halftime buzzer.
Curry finally got on the scoreboard with a three-pointer 53 seconds into the third quarter and from then on the Warriors went on to outscore the overmatched Wizards 38-17 in the period.
Warriors PG Stephen Curry failed to score a basket in the first half for the first time in five years
Curry went on to finish the game with 18 points, six rebounds, five ᴀssists in the 123-112 win
The 35-year-old guard went on to finish the game with 18 points, six rebounds, five ᴀssists, and sH๏τ 4 of 16 on 3-pointers while the rest of the Warriors went 17 for 30 from beyond the arc.
Shooting guard Klay Thompson finished the game with 25 points and four ᴀssists, while Chris Paul after missing the last seven weeks with a knee injury.
Jonathan Kuminga added 21 points for Golden State, which has won 11 of 14 and moved into ninth place in the Western Conference, percentage points ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tyus Jones had a career-high 17 ᴀssists while scoring 14 points for the Wizards, whose season-long skid reached 12 games. Kyle Kuzma had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Corey Kispert and Marvin Bagley III each scored 20 for Washington, which was missing two starters in Deni Avdija (left heel contusion) and rookie Bilal Coulibaly (right pelvic contusion).
Curry has failed to score before halftime 16 times in his career, including once in the playoffs — May 10, 2019, against Houston, when he scored 33 points in the second half and led the Warriors to a 118-113 victory. His other scoreless first halves all came during his first four seasons.
Klay Thompson scored 25 points to help pick up for the struggling Curry during the night
Chris Paul made his return after missing seven weeks due to a serious wrist injury
Paul, who missed 21 games with a fractured left hand that required surgery, played with the fresh legs of a rested 38-year-old. He was the catalyst for a 19-4 run in the second quarter that flipped a nine-point Warriors deficit into a six-point lead, with a 3-pointer, a steal, two ᴀssists and two rebounds.
The 3-pointer moved him past Steve Nash for 32nd in NBA history. He finished with nine points and six ᴀssists in 22 minutes.
While the pro-Warriors crowd turned out for Curry, it ended up cheering for Paul, who joined the Warriors in an offseason trade with Washington for Jordan Poole.
Midway through the third quarter, Paul stood for a few seconds outside the arc, and when no one came out to guard him, swished a 3 that put Golden State ahead 85-71, walking to the bench with a bemused smile.
Late in the quarter, he calmly pointed his teammates to their spots on the floor while being guarded by Kispert, then lofted a perfect lob to Kuminga for a dunk and a 98-75 Warriors lead.
