Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) reacts to his third foul against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second quarter of Game 2 of the NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry dished out the third-most assists of his playoff career Thursday night.
But, please, refer to them as scoring passes.
Admiring them in the Chase Center audience was Joe Montana, who’d thrown the most touchdown passes in the NFL playoff history upon retiring with 45 such scoring strikes — and with four Super Bowl rings for the 49ers.
Curry unselfishly looked like a quarterback on the hardwood as the Warriors pulled away from the Lakers in a 127-100 win, evening their conference-semifinals series at 1.
“The point of emphasis is I’m trying to get the ball in my hands more. The rest is read and react, taking what’s there,” Curry said. “That’s the beauty of what we can do: play a bunch of different ways,”
It was Curry’s highest total of assists — or scoring passes — since Steve Kerr became coach in 2014-15. The only other playoff games Curry notched more: 15 assists in a 2014 opening-round, Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers; 13 in a 2013 opening-round, Game 2 win at Denver.
“Steph was brilliant,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “In the first half, he wasn’t really going offensively, but he was just running our team.”
His 12th assist Thursday night capped the third quarter in emphatic fashion, with Moses Moody’s dunk making it a 110-80 lead.
Curry’s other assists served as a variety show, to overshadow his 20 points in a smooth 30 minutes. His 12 assists went to six different players, including three apiece to Draymond Green and surprise starter JaMychal Green.
Does Curry take great satisfaction of getting others’ involved in the scoring?
“I do,” Curry replied, “but I like to shoot, too. Just find ways to be impactful and be aggressive, and whatever’s working, stick with that.”
On assist No. 11, he bounced a pass to between Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves for a Draymond Green bucket and 92-70 lead.
On assist No. 10, Curry whipped the ball to JaMychal Green lurking in the corner, for a 3-pointer to make it 88-69.
It was a much tighter game, however, when Curry’s fifth and sixth assists came in a key sequence.
He intercepted — sorry, more football jargon — a long pass intended for LeBron James, and that led to a quick assist on a Klay Thompson 3-pointer. Curry celebrated by asking the crowd to applaud, and he followed with a shimmy dance back toward the Warriors’ bench with a 36-35 lead intact 9:17 before halftime.
“Steph was magnificent tonight,” Thompson said. “He ran the offense perfectly. We go as he goes. Everyone knows that.”
After that Thompson 3-pointer (on his 30-point night), Curry and James traded layups, then it was time for assist No. 7 — a Kevon Looney layup for a 40-37 cushion. An assist to Draymond Green dunk just before halftime put the Warriors’ lead at 67-54.
Curry was 7-of-12 shooting from the floor, after making 20-of-38 shots for a 50-point milestone in the Warriors’ last win — in Game 7 of the opening round at Sacramento.
“That’s the beauty of Steph. He’s so unselfish,” Kerr said. “He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. He knew going into Game 7 in Sacramento, he had to do what he did. He doesn’t have to take that mentality every night, like tonight.
“The way things were clicking, Steph was content being a more traditional point guard.”
Curry cringed when a reporter echoed that moniker.
“The labels and all that stuff, I don’t ever get into it,” Curry said. “Labels usually demean or try to bottle up greatness on what we try to do on a night-to-night basis. I try to do it in a lot of different ways.”
Alas, there was no need to send Curry back to try for a career-high 16th assist.
Speaking of No. 16, that was Montana’s jersey number, at least in his 49ers’ tenure. His 45 playoff touchdown passes are now tied for second-most in NFL history, a mark he shares with Aaron Rodgers and one surpassed only by Tom Brady, who had 88 assists — touchdown passes — the past 23 seasons of his career.
Past and present @49ers at Chase Center
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— NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2023
Montana wasn’t the only 49er in the house on Thursday. Tight end George Kittle, running back Christian McCaffrey and new quarterback Sam Darnold sat courtside, too. After the game, Thompson came over to say hello to the three current members of the red-and-gold.
Originally published at Cam InmanBAY AREAAA @49ers || #BayAreaUnite pic.twitter.com/gbC1lSpOhy
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 5, 2023