Stephen Curry Sealed Golden State’s Play-In Win With an Unusually Smooth Move

Curry took his time before delivering knockout blow.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks towards Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during a break in the action in the second quarter at the Chase Center.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) looks towards Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during a break in the action in the second quarter at the Chase Center. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Golden State Warriors worked for months to avoid the NBA's Play-In Tournament in order to rest a veteran roster but weren't able to do so. But all's well that ends well as the Warriors were able to use their home-court advantage to sail past the Memphis Grizzlies, 121-116. Stephen Curry, as he's done so many times before in the biggest moments, put things out of reach by knocking down a three-pointer to extend the Warriors' lead to six points with 59.5 seconds remaining in regulation.

How he did it, however, was a bit revelatory as he put a bold new twist on a classic move. Curry performed not one, but two pump fakes on a scrambling Scotty Pippen Jr. to cause maximum effort and no defensive success. It's unclear if the math makes this a triple pump fake or double-clutching twice means it's a quadruple fake or something else entirely.

That's not important as it's just meant to be enjoyed.

With the victory Golden State sets up a best-of-seven series against the Houston Rockets, the Western Conference's No. 2 seed. Curry & Co. remain incredibly dangerous and it will be interesting to see just how many more magical moments he has in the holster.


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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.