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<\/p>\nStephen Curry trudged to the sideline with just over five minutes left in Thursday\u2019s critical late-season matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, hardly hiding his frustration. The Golden State Warriors superstar repeatedly shook his head as he sat down on the bench and play resumed, clearly exasperated by Steve Kerr\u2019s decision to give him a quick breather as crunch-time commenced.<\/p>\n
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Fortunately for the Warriors, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups ensured Curry\u2019s blow was even shorter than initially planned, calling timeout mere seconds after the two-time MVP was taken out of the game. A refreshed Curry was back on the floor for the ensuing possession, staking a forceful claim for Clutch Player of the Year while leading the shorthanded Dubs to a crucial\u00a0100-92\u00a0victory.<\/p>\n
Defense played a critical role in the Warriors overcoming a rough all-around performance in Portland. The rebuilding Blazers were missing several impact rotation players on Thursday, a reality laid bare as Golden State buckled down defensively when it mattered most, holding Billups\u2019 team without a field goal for a whopping six-and-a-half minute stretch of the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
\u201cKind of a rough, choppy game. Obviously I was missing shots all over the place,\u201d Curry said afterwards. \u201cThey have a lineup that we understand their situation, so we know they\u2019re gonna play hard, play with energy, disrupt everything we\u2019re doing, and for the most part if worked for 42 minutes. Then we just got really disciplined down the stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Forgive Curry for his typical modesty. It wasn\u2019t just Kevon Looney owning the glass, Brandin Podziemski\u2019s dogged defense on Scoot Henderson or a team-wide commitment to shrinking the floor that prompted Golden State\u2019s late-game dominance. Curry\u2019s singular offensive exploits were at least as big a driving force behind that development, rescuing the Dubs from a supremely disappointing loss.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what Curry did immediately after that brief substitution just before crunch-time. Was there any doubt this right-wing triple was dropping once he sprang free off Looney\u2019s screen in post-split \u2018gaggle\u2019 action, taking advantage of DeAndre Ayton\u2019s drop defense?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Curry took matters into his own hands even further on Golden State\u2019s next trip down, using three separate screens from Looney to finally find him for an easy finish in empty-corner pick-and-roll.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Curry finished with eight points and three assists in the final stanza on 3-of-5 shooting. His left-wing three with just under eight minutes left ended a troubling Warriors drought, pulling them within three points of Portland as the game appeared to be slipping away. All of his assists went for layups, the result of the Blazers sending multiple defenders to stop him.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t\u00a0Curry\u2019s most productive nor jaw-dropping fourth quarter performance\u00a0in a season full of them. Still, there\u2019s no denying that Golden State doesn\u2019t leave Rip City with a victory\u2014keeping its hopes of earning the eighth seed in the West alive\u2014absent more crunch-time brilliance from the greatest player in franchise history.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteph\u2019s done that a million times, so it never surprises you. Obviously it wasn\u2019t his best shooting night, but made some big ones down the stretch and competed really well,\u201d Steve Kerr said on the postgame podium. \u201cWe played him more than we wanted to, but we got it done and now we\u2019ve got a chance to go play New Orleans tomorrow and get a win and put ourselves in a pretty good spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nCurry entered Thursday\u2019s game as the clear favorite to take home Clutch Player of the Year in 2023-24, sporting\u00a0-150 odds\u00a0to win the award, per FanDuel. DeMar DeRozan is the only other player in realistic competition for the honor as Vegas sees it, his odds at +110. No one else in basketball has better odds than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s +2900.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not hard to see why Curry seemed a shoo-in to win the Jerry West Trophy even before what transpired at Moda Center.<\/p>\n
His\u00a0189 points in the clutch\u00a0leads the league, per NBA.com\/stats. His 32 made threes in the last five minutes of close games are more than double the amount of any other player\u2019s, and he\u2019s shooting a scorching 47.1% on those looks. Only Joel Embiid has a higher usage percentage in the clutch than Curry\u2019s 40.3. Among the 28 high-minute players with a usage percentage above 31.0, his ridiculous 70.0 true shooting percentage ranks first.<\/p>\n
Curry is well past the point of measuring success in individual accolades. Other than Finals MVP, no further personal recognition will matter to a player who\u2019s already cemented himself among the sport\u2019s true all-time greats.<\/p>\n
When it comes to his place in the NBA\u2019s historic individual hierarchy, though, winning Clutch Player of the Year at the ripe old age of 36 could indeed help separate Curry from other basketball legends\u2014not to mention make Golden State an increasingly tough out no matter how or where the Warriors begin the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should win it. Yeah, he should win Clutch Player of the Year for sure,\u201d Podziemski said of Curry. \u201cObviously De\u2019Aaron [Fox] won it last year, and I Steph has surpassed what he did last year this year. He\u2019s our go-to guy in the clutch, he makes clutch shots. It\u2019d be crazy if we could get the clutch Steph Curry for 48 minutes. But yeah, I think he should win it. He\u2019s the best in the league when it comes to the under six-minute mark.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n