Backdoor layup, pull-up three -- and repeat. A deep two, another pair of treys and a couple more acrobatic lay-ins later, and the first 12 minutes of Stephen Curry’s NBA season were over.
The Finals ended four months ago, but don’t tell Curry that -- on the opening night of 2015-2016 play, Curry picked up right where his MVP season left off, tallying a personal-best 24 points in the first period of the new season. In the minutes after the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 championship ring ceremony, Curry’s barrage of off-the-dribble triples and slicing, floating lay-ins surely gave Golden State fans a premonition of a second consecutive parade come June 2016.
While he was on pace for a ridiculous 96 points after the opening quarter, Curry finished the contest with a respectable 40, as he and the rest of the boys in blue and gold lit up Oracle Arena in a 111-95 win over the up-and-coming New Orleans Pelicans. The reigning MVP clocked in shooting 14-of-26 for the night -- a nice 54 percent field goal clip to start off his team’s quest for a second straight ring.
Curry fell short of only G.O.A.T.s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain for most points scored by a reigning MVP in a season opener -- Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain had 41 and 42, respectively.
Not bad company to be in with 3,888 minutes left in the regular season.
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