Stephen Curry declared the Golden State Warriors are playing at a championship-winning level, after continuing his fine run of form in Friday's 118-104 win over the Denver Nuggets. (More Sports News)
The Warriors extended their winning streak to five games on Friday, improving to 46-31 to move a game behind the Nuggets in the Western Conference standings.
Curry had a game-high 36 points as well as five assists, two rebounds and two steals, shooting 13-of-24 from the field and making seven three-pointers.
He has scored 125 points across his last three games, with only LeBron James ever beating that figure across a three-game stretch while aged 37 or older.
The Warriors also got 26 points from Brandin Podziemski and 19 from Jimmy Butler, meaning Nikola Jokic's near triple-double was academic. The MVP candidate had 33 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists.
Asked if the Warriors were playing at the same level as their 2021-22 championship-winning season, Curry said: "We're playing like that.
"We have a lot of work to do – I've been saying that since this run started. We still have a lot of work to do to finish the year strong.
"You are seeing an identity on a night-to-night that we understand how to win games; whether it's games where tempo is a lot faster, or if it's a grind-out defensive game.
"We've played better in fourth quarters with leads. All the things that championship-calibre teams do, we've been doing, and it's clearly different than two months ago."
Since February 8, the Warriors have won 22 of 26 games. They had lost 10 of their previous 17, but Curry always knew they would flip the switch at the business end of the season.
"[There's a] sense of urgency down the stretch," he said. "The feeling of where you are in the standings, every game mattering.바카라 웹사이트
"And the idea that the chess match of: 'how do we win this particular game?' becomes a little bit more important.
"We thrive off that. That's why we've been so successful for this many years. Because as the stakes rise, the lights get brighter, we tend to level up."
The Warriors are fifth in the West, following a good night for the teams pushing at the top of the standings.
The Los Angeles Lakers are just ahead of Denver in third, with a 47-30 record after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 124-108.
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 35 points with Austin Reaves adding 30, while James scored 27 points with eight assists as Los Angeles' 'Big Three' shone.
But the Houston Rockets strengthened their grip on the second seeded spot바카라 웹사이트by snapping the Oklahoma City Thunder's 11-game winning streak with a 125-111 success.
The Los Angeles Clippers, in seventh, also recorded a victory, beating the Dallas Mavericks 114-91 as Kawhi Leonard (20 points) led six of their players in double figures.
