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Steph Curry drops 51 points in 3 quarters against Wizards behind 11 3-pointers

Steph Curry is a tremendous shooter — he’s made that more than clear throughout his basketball career.

The 30-year-old reminded the NBA of that fact on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Curry dropped 51 in the Warriors’ 144-122 win against the Washington Wizards, shooting 11-of-16 from the 3-point line.

Curry got things started right out of the gate, putting up 21 points in the opening quarter and draining five 3-pointers.

He passed Jamal Crawford and moved into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers list, and marked his 22nd career 20-point quarter — all within the first 12 minutes of the game.

Curry breaks out the shrug

Perhaps most impressive 3-pointer of the night, though, likely came late in the third quarter.

Up by 14 with less than three minutes left in the period, Curry caught the ball well behind the 3-point line on the left side of the floor. He didn’t even think about it — just fired the shot and drained it like it was nothing over Wizards guard John Wall.

The Wizards called time out right after the play, and Steph just walked back to his bench, shrugging his shoulders casually.

He did the same thing just a few plays later, too, bringing the ball up the court before just pulling up from deep — hitting the shot even with a hand in his face.

By the end of the third quarter, Curry had hit 51 total points and led the Warriors to an 18 point lead.

Curry’s night ended there, as he had already done his fair share. He finished the game with 11 made 3-pointers, and recorded his sixth career game where he scored 50 or more points. As a team, the Warriors only made four other shots from behind the arc. The Wizards, on the other hand, went just 12-of-42 from the 3-point line, making just one more combined than Curry did on his own.

“When you’ve got it cooking that way, the coach and the rest of the team, we’re just there to support him at that point,” said Kevin Durant, who dropped 30 points of his own in the 22-point win. “He did such a great job of just staying aggressive, shooting good shots … It was a joy to be on the same court as that. It was sick.”

Wizards guard Bradley Beal had just one solution to stopping Curry when he gets on a run like that.

“You foul the shit out of him,” Beal said, via Fred Katz of The Athletic. “That’s probably what we should have done. But even when we did that, he still made them.”

Kevin Durant dropped 30 points of his own, shooting an impressive 72 percent from the field in the 22-point win, too.

While it may have been a long offseason for some, Curry made sure to remind everyone what he’s capable of on the court on Wednesday night — and he didn’t waste much time doing so.

Warriors guard Steph Curry put up 51 points in just three quarters on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards. (Getty Images)
Warriors guard Steph Curry put up 51 points in just three quarters on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards. (Getty Images)

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