Steph Curry had a terrific night at the office on Thursday. The two-time MVP racked up 38 points in Golden State's 126-118 victory over the Wizards in D.C.
The scoring total isn't anything abnormal for Curry, who is averaging 29.5 points per game and has scored at least 30 points in 19 of his 37 appearances this season (and 167 times in his career).
But the way in which Curry eclipsed 30 points against Washington was very rare for the greatest shooter in NBA history. He went 14-for-24 overall, 2-for-8 from deep and 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
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Why is that strange? Because in his career during the regular season, Curry has hit the 30-point mark when making two or fewer 3-pointers only five times:
-Feb. 21, 2010 vs the Hawks -- 32 points, 13-for-18 overall, 1-for-3 on 3-pointers, 5-for-5 free throws
-Feb. 25, 2010 vs the Nuggets -- 30 points, 11-for-19 overall, 2-for-5 on 3-pointers, 6-for-6 free throws
-Nov. 8, 2010 at the Raptors -- 34 points, 12-for-21 overall, 2-for-4 on 3-pointers, 8-for-8 free throws
-Jan. 8, 2014 at the Nets -- 34 points, 11-for-25 overall, 2-for-10 on 3-pointers, 10-for-10 free throws
-Jan. 24, 2019 at the Wizards -- 38 points, 14-for-24 overall, 2-for-8 on 3-pointers, 8-for-8 free throws
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As you can see, the last time he did this prior to Thursday was over five years ago. But there is one caveat -- Curry also "accomplished" this in Game 5 of the 2017 NBA Finals when he scored 34 points despite going just 2-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Even still, the main takeaway is that when Curry has big scoring nights, he typically does a lot of his damage from 3-point range. Shocking, right?
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller
