Senior scorers: Curry joins Kobe in record 60-point outburst

Dejounte Murray extended the game with a jumper in the final seconds of regulation, then scored 7 consecutive points in overtime, allowing the host Atlanta Hawks to overcome a 60-point explosion by Stephen Curry for a 141-134 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, February 3 (Sunday night, February 4, Manila time).

Capping a wild sprint to the regulation finish line for teams on the second night of a back-to-back, the Hawks forged a 123-123 tie when Murray nailed a 14-footer with 4.6 seconds remaining.

Curry, who had scored 13 Warriors points in a row to reach 52 by that point, had a chance to win the game, but he couldn’t connect on a running bank shot at the regulation horn.

Overtime was all Hawks, who secured their fourth consecutive win by scoring the extra period’s first 11 points.

Onyeka Okongwu connected from the interior and Jalen Johnson converted on a drive to give Atlanta the upper hand in the first 63 seconds of overtime before Murray slammed the door with a three-point play and two jumpers.

Curry, who had 22 of his 60 points in the fourth period, scored 8 of Golden State’s 11 points in overtime, completing his second career 60-point game. 

His bid for a new career high, a three-pointer with 54.3 seconds left, was off the mark, leaving him two points shy of the 62 he had against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021.

Curry shot 22-for-38 overall and 10-for-23 on three-point attempts.

With the feat, Curry joins Kobe Bryant as the only NBA players  to record more that 60 points in a game at 35 years or older, the league said.

Trae Young dueled Curry evenly for most of the night and wound up with a team-high 35 points for the Hawks. He connected on 7 of his 11 three-point attempts.

Hawks big men Okongwu (22 points, game-high 16 rebounds) and Clint Capela (17 points, 15 rebounds) combined for 39 points and 31 rebounds, while Johnson had a third Atlanta double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds to complement a game-high-tying 8 assists.

Murray, who shot just 9-for-24 from the field, totaled 19 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 13 for Atlanta.

Lester Quinones had 17 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 16 before fouling out and Brandin Podziemski finished with 15 to go with a team-high 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who were seeking a third straight win.

Klay Thompson chipped in 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting and Kevon Looney collected 10 rebounds for the shorthanded Warriors, who lost Andrew Wiggins (2 points) to an ankle injury shortly before halftime.

The teams were tied at 64 at the break, with neither leading by more than 8 through the first 24 minutes of action. Curry led all first-half scorers with 19 points. – Rappler.com