Despite laboring on an injured right ankle, Steph Curry still found a way to score 34 points and rise another spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list during Tuesday's game in Orlando. The Warriors guard (25,744 points) moved past Vince Carter (25,728) to climb to No. 22 on the scoring ladder. Surpassing Carter was significant for Curry for a very personal reason. His father, Dell Curry, played with Carter for three seasons in Toronto at the end of his career.
The Warriors will finish a two-game road trip with a matchup at Denver on Friday, and will have to do so without their franchise player. Curry was noticeably coughing and sniffling during the last home game against Phoenix, and he told reporters that he had been fighting sickness for the previous midwestern road trip to Milwaukee and Indiana. He did not travel with the team to Sacramento, and Curry was ruled out with with an illness on the NBAs official injury report.
So, during a timeout, assistants Terry Stotts and Chris DeMarco made a suggestion. Butler subbed in for Will Richard at the 4:21 mark of the fourth quarter, Green took the place of Brandin Podziemski with 3:50 to play, and besides a few seconds on the final possession of regulation, the five-man lineup closed out the final 8 minutes, 50 seconds of what turned into a 137-131 overtime win.
And when Curry played a two-man game with Horford, the Blazers had no answers for the two-time MVP. Well, except for fouling on plays that, a year ago, may have gone uncalled. Thanks to the new 'Hi-Five' rule, which penalizes defenders for swiping at hands following through, and re-emphasizes contact to shooters' legs, Curry shot nine free throws in the first half, all makes, and ended up with 13 attempts from the foul line overall.