'Embarrassing' Night for Stephen Curry in 51-Point Loss at Memphis

Warriors

By Associated Press

Published 1 month ago on

December 20, 2024

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives against Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr., right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP/Brandon Dill)

Stephen Curry's unprecedented scoreless performance highlights Warriors' worst loss of the season against Memphis.
Golden State experiences third 50+ point loss in five years, raising concerns about team's recent struggles and defensive issues.
Coach Steve Kerr remains optimistic about team's resilience, acknowledging need for improved execution under pressure.

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MEMPHIS — Stephen Curry had a game like none other in his career. It was part of an awful night for the Golden State Warriors.

Curry didn’t make a shot from the field in his 24 minutes — the first time he’s played that many minutes without a basket in his 16-year career — and the Warriors fell behind by 57 points in what became a 144-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.

“We ran into a buzz saw,” Curry said. “We obviously know we are better than that. I’ve got to be better than that.”

Record-Breaking Loss for Warriors

The 51-point final margin and 57-point deficit were both the largest in the NBA this season.

“You lose by 51, that’s humbling,” coach Steve Kerr said after his team, which started the season 12-3, lost for the ninth time in its last 11 games.

Curry was 0 for 7, missing all six of his tries from 3-point range. It was only the fifth time in Curry’s career that he’d taken a shot in a game and not registered a field goal — he was 0 for 1 once, 0 for 2 once, 0 for 3 once and 0 for 4 once.

“He’s one of the toughest covers in the history of the NBA,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.

Not on Thursday, however.

“That was embarrassing,” Curry said.

Historical Context of the Defeat

It was only the fifth time in Warriors history that they lost a regular-season game by more than 50 points. Of those, three have come in the last five years — by 53 to Toronto at Tampa, Florida in 2021, by 52 at Boston on March 3 and Thursday’s 51-point loss.

The franchise regular-season record is a 63-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. The Philadelphia Warriors lost by 51 at Boston in 1962.

“It wasn’t any of our nights,” Kerr said. “Including mine.”

Curry and Draymond Green had never combined for zero field goals in a game in which both played, until Thursday.

“There’s a first time for everything, right?” Curry said.

Team Performance and Future Outlook

Brandin Podziemski and Andrew Wiggins combined to make 15 of their 24 shots for Golden State. The rest of the Warriors shot 17 of 66 — 25.8% — with Dennis Schroder going 2 for 12 in his Golden State debut. Jonathan Kuminga also shot 2 of 12.

The Warriors have now trailed at least one game by 45 points in each of the last six seasons.

“Once we’re all locked in defensively, you see what type of team we can be,” Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said.

The Grizzlies now have the two biggest victory margins in the NBA this season. They beat Portland by 45 on Nov. 10.

Memphis also led Golden State by 55 in Game 5 of the 2022 Western Conference semifinals, ultimately winning that game by 39 points. The Warriors went on to win that series in six games and eventually won that season’s NBA title.

“I know who we are. I know what our team is about,” Kerr said. “I know we’ve got competitors, and I know we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to regroup. So, I’m not concerned about that. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to execute and learn how to execute under pressure and take care of the ball and get good shots.”