Steph Curry makes history again: his insane one-quarter statline

At the FedExForum in Memphis, it was yin vs yang. One team – the Grizzlies – once seen as the vanguard of a generational shift that never quite arrived. The other – the Warriors – basketball royalty clinging to the final chapters of a golden era. Both entered the night chasing a shared goal: to avoid the play-in tournament and secure a direct playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Butler and Curry help Warriors calm the Grizzlies

Memphis, reeling from a disastrous run of form and a front office in chaos, met a Golden State side revived by the arrival of Jimmy Butler and the enduring brilliance of Stephen Curry.

The Grizzlies came into the game having lost seven of their last nine – six of their last seven – and now find themselves in full-blown crisis mode. The recent firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins stunned many. After six seasons and guiding the team to its best regular-season record in franchise history (56 wins in 2021–22), Jenkins was abruptly dismissed.

In his place stands 42-year-old Tuomas Iisalo, making his NBA coaching debut after departing Paris Basketball midseason. His arrival came alongside the dismissal of Jenkins’s top assistants, Noah LaRoche and Patrick St. Andrews. To make matters worse, a physical altercation between Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama, and growing skepticism over Ja Morant’s leadership, have cast a long shadow over the locker room.

Golden State, meanwhile, continues to defy the timeline. With Klay Thompson gone and Chris Paul’s brief stint now a footnote, the Warriors have been reborn thanks to Butler’s leadership and an inspired second half of the season. The only bump: managing the physical toll on their veteran core. Curry, now 37, had missed recent games due to fatigue, but returned in emphatic fashion.

Curry too hot to handle

And what a return it was. The Warriors beat the Grizzlies 134–125 in a high-stakes showdown between the league’s fifth-youngest team (24.7 average age) and its fifth-oldest (28.6). Curry stole the show, delivering a masterclass that belongs in his personal highlight reel:

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Graphic from Sofascore

He had 19 of Golden State’s 45 first-quarter points, forcing Memphis to chase the game from the start. Ja Morant responded with 36 points and 6 assists, and solid efforts came from Bane (19) and Aldama (18), but nothing could stop Curry.

It was a timeless performance from the greatest point guard of his generation, a reminder that, even as the years stack up, his brilliance still defines the sport.

With the win, the Warriors leapfrog the Grizzlies into fifth place in the Western Conference. For Golden State, everything is clicking. And at the center of it all, smiling as ever, is Stephen Curry – shining brighter than ever. And that, at this stage in his career, says it all.

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Memphis Grizzlies

Stats

13 Jaren Jackson Jr.
0 Jaylen Wells
14 Zach Edey
22 Desmond Bane
12 Ja Morant
7 Santi Aldama
35 Marvin Bagley III
30 Jay Huff
45 GG Jackson II
17 Yuki Kawamura
10 Luke Kennard
1 Scotty Pippen Jr.
24 Cam Spencer
18 Lamar Stevens

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
13 Jaren Jackson Jr.	30	22	7	2	5	1	1	1	1	6/6	5/11	2/9	0	6	0
0 Jaylen Wells	30	5	4	1	3	1	0	1	0	0/0	1/1	1/4	0	4	0
14 Zach Edey	32	10	16	3	13	1	2	0	4	2/3	4/6	0/1	0	4	0
22 Desmond Bane	35	19	4	0	4	5	3	2	1	3/3	2/5	4/10	0	0	0
12 Ja Morant	33	36	3	0	3	6	6	2	0	3/3	9/14	5/8	0	4	0
7 Santi Aldama	30	18	6	2	4	1	1	1	0	2/3	2/5	4/6	0	3	0
35 Marvin Bagley III	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2/2	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
30 Jay Huff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
45 GG Jackson II	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
17 Yuki Kawamura	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
10 Luke Kennard	21	3	1	0	1	5	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	1/3	0	0	0
1 Scotty Pippen Jr.	23	10	2	0	2	2	2	0	0	1/2	3/6	1/3	0	2	0
24 Cam Spencer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
18 Lamar Stevens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0

Golden State Warriors

Stats

10 Jimmy Butler III
4 Moses Moody
23 Draymond Green
30 Stephen Curry
2 Brandin Podziemski
7 Buddy Hield
32 Trayce Jackson-Davis
31 Kevin Knox II
5 Kevon Looney
21 Quinten Post
15 Gui Santos
61 Pat Spencer
1 Taran Armstrong
12 Braxton Key
44 Jackson Rowe

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
10 Jimmy Butler III	38	27	6	1	5	4	2	3	0	12/12	6/9	1/2	0	1	0
4 Moses Moody	35	10	4	2	2	1	2	0	1	0/0	2/3	2/5	0	4	0
23 Draymond Green	32	13	10	2	8	12	3	2	1	4/4	3/5	1/7	0	4	0
30 Stephen Curry	36	52	10	1	9	8	2	5	1	8/8	4/11	12/20	0	2	0
2 Brandin Podziemski	28	8	5	1	4	1	0	0	0	0/0	4/7	0/4	0	3	0
7 Buddy Hield	20	8	3	1	2	0	1	1	0	2/2	0/0	2/7	0	1	0
32 Trayce Jackson-Davis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
31 Kevin Knox II	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
5 Kevon Looney	9	3	4	3	1	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/3	1/1	0	1	0
21 Quinten Post	19	9	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	3/9	0	2	0
15 Gui Santos	18	4	6	4	2	1	1	0	0	2/2	1/4	0/1	0	4	0
61 Pat Spencer	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
1 Taran Armstrong	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
12 Braxton Key	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
44 Jackson Rowe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0