The Warriors’ Stephen Curry shoots against the Mavericks’ Chandler Parsons.
OAKLAND, Calif. — In the midst of his highest-scoring performance ever at home, Stephen Curry figured he’d call a play for someone else. Instead, teammate Draymond Green looked him and shouted, “Get 50.”
No problem.
Curry raced down court and made his 10th 3-pointer to finish with a season-high 51 points, capping an electrifying effort that rallied the Golden State Warriors from an early 22-point deficit to down the Dallas Mavericks 128-114 on Wednesday night.
“Sometimes Steph plays his best when we’re down big and he just senses that he has to put the Superman cape on,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “And he’s so good at it. He loves the freedom of being down and saying, `All right. I’m going to let it fly and bring us back.’ And that’s what he did.”
Curry connected on 10 of 16 shots from beyond the arc and 16 of 26 overall. The All-Star point guard and MVP candidate put on a dazzling dribbling display to match his streaky shooting stroke, scoring 26 points in the third quarter alone to help the NBA-leading Warriors (39-8) complete their biggest comeback of the season in front of a roaring sellout crowd of 19,596.
“If I had any kind of daylight off the pick-and-roll, I was going to shoot it,” Curry said. “I had a good feel and a good rhythm.”
Chandler Parsons scored 24 points, and Tyson Chandler had 21 points and 17 rebounds in a disappointing defeat for Dallas, which played without injured point guard Rajon Rondo again. The Mavericks led 40-18 in the first quarter before Curry carried Golden State back.
“He had one of those extra-special nights. I’ve never seen anybody in this league hit shots like that from that distance,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
Curry finished just shy of his 54-point masterpiece at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 27, 2013. He made a career-high 11 3-pointers in that game, a 109-105 loss to the Knicks, but could savor a home victory this time.
Curry had 41 points and nine 3-pointers to give Golden State a 101-98 lead through three quarters. The Warriors stretched that margin to 112-101 early in the fourth with Curry on the bench, then called him back when the Mavericks moved within seven.
The quick-footed guard guided the Warriors in the right direction, putting the game out of reach when he chased down an errant pass by Devin Harris in the backcourt and drew a foul on Dirk Nowitzki while going for a layup. Curry made both free throws, then hit another pair the next time down to put Golden State up 124-113 with 1:35 remaining.
Curry cemented another career night with the step-back 3-pointer, setting off chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” throughout the building.
His hot-shooting performance only highlighted an impressive display by the Warriors, who hit 19 of 38 shots from 3-point range. The Mavericks made 10 of 30 from beyond the arc.
Klay Thompson had 18 points, and Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa scored 14 each off the bench as the Warriors won their third straight game. They begin a stretch of 10 of 11 on the road Friday night at East-leading Atlanta.
The Mavericks (33-18) had won three in a row and looked poised at the outset to extend their streak in the NBA’s toughest venue for visiting teams.
Dallas went ahead 24-4 in a little more than six minutes, stretched its lead to 22 and held on for a 42-25 advantage at the end of the first quarter. It was the most points the Warriors had allowed in any quarter this season.
The Warriors trimmed Dallas’ lead to 62-58 at halftime and went ahead early in the third quarter, with Curry creating his own shots and bringing fans screaming out of their seats after every swish.
“It’s one thing for him to hit the spot-up shots, but he hit shots in traffic, he makes tough floaters,” Chandler said. “An incredible all-around game.”
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Rondo missed his second straight game after he broke an orbital bone in his left eye and fractured his nose during Saturday’s win at Orlando. He remains out indefinitely. … Al-Farouq Aminu was called for a technical foul late in the third quarter after arguing with an official.
Warriors: Golden State improved to a league-best 23-2 at home. … Andrew Bogut had eight rebounds to eclipse 5,000 for his career.
SILVER ON HAND
Curry treated a special guest to his performance: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who also attended Golden State’s win at Sacramento on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: At Sacramento on Thursday.
Warriors: At Atlanta on Friday.