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Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry signs autographs after the team’s NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
INDIANAPOLIS— Stephen Curry can already sense the momentum building inside the Golden State Warriors’ locker room.
Coach Steve Kerr feels it, too.
So after making no significant trade deadline additions Thursday, Curry made his first seven 3-pointers, scored 29 of his 42 points in the first half and almost single-handedly carried Golde State past the Indiana Pacers, 131-109, in the NBA.
“The challenge is to not get too far ahead of yourself, thinking you can just show up and win games,” Curry said when asked about the Warriors’ sudden resurgence. “We’ve got a long way to go to get some (playoff) security.”
READ: Steph Curry, Anthony Davis among NBA All-Star reserves
The Warriors started the night 11th in the Western Conference. But if Curry plays like he did Thursday, there’s no telling how far the Warriors could ascend.
A night after scoring just nine points at Philadelphia, Curry went 15 of 22 from the field, had a season-high 11 3s on 16 attempts and posted his fifth 40-point game of the season as the Indiana crowd routinely applauded Curry’s masterpiece. The Warriors have won three straight and went 4-1 on a five-game trip.
What a 1st half from Steph Curry!
29 PTS
10/11 FGM
8/9 3PM (ties career high for a half)
Warriors lead 70-58. pic.twitter.com/5ZzmLssVgK
— NBA (@NBA) February 9, 2024
Pascal Siakam had 16 points and eight rebounds for Indiana. Myles Turner added 15 points and seven rebounds, while All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton struggled offensively, scoring five points in 26 minutes. He did have 11 assists.
The Pacers had other problems, too.
“Well, he (Curry) was making shots, but we got beat by their hard play — and our lack of hard play,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “Simple as that. It was ugly. I think we lost every quarter.”
Curry made sure of it as Golden State snapped a three-game losing streak in the series. The Warriors hadn’t beaten the Pacers since December 2021.
READ: NBA: Steph Curry scores 60 but Warriors lose to Hawks in OT
He made 10 of his first 11 shots, missing just one 3 during that stretch as the Warriors built a 70-58 halftime lead.
Curry cooled off in the second half, though his teammates did not. The Warriors pulled out to a 95-76 lead after three, and the Pacers never recovered on a night the NBA’s highest scoring team fell 15.4 points below its average.
Jonathan Kuminga added 18 points for Golden State.
“We had a great start to the season and then things, obviously, went kind of haywire for a while,” Kerr said. “But this feels like the best version of us, with the starting lineup, playing they are, bringing guys off the bench who are giving great energy and effort. And then, Steph was just scalding hot there early.”
Nobody had a stranger 24 hours than guard Cory Joseph, who flew with the Warriors to Indiana on Wednesday night, was dealt to the Pacers as Thursday’s trade deadline approached and wound up jobless when the Pacers waived him.
It was Indiana’s second deal of the day. The Pacers also sent starting swingman Buddy Hield to Philadelphia and acquired swingman Doug McDermott from San Antonio in a three-team deal.
NEXT SCHEDULE
Warriors: Host Phoenix on Saturday night.
Pacers: At New York on Saturday night.