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 Even so, rarely, if ever, was his name used in a basketball context.
Until the amazing Stephen Curry made it happen Monday night.
Curry capped a second-quarter-ending flurry with a Bo-type sprint up
the tunnel to the locker room, having just banked in a 55-foot shot
that provided the killing blow in the Golden State Warriors' 115-94
victory over the Utah Jazz.
Even on a night when he had his second-lowest-scoring game of the
season, Curry (three) combined with backcourt mate Klay Thompson
(five) for eight 3-pointers, giving them an even 500 for the season,
as the Warriors (57-6) won their 28th in a row at home this season
and 46th straight at Oracle Arena in the regular season dating back
to last January.
The overall home winning streak is an ongoing NBA record.
"That's the best game we've played in a while," Warriors coach Steve
Kerr said. "Just being solid. ... We have so much depth and so much
talent ... solid is enough."
Curry finished with just 12 points, but Thompson poured in a
game-high 23, Draymond Green had 17 and center Marreese Speights
came off the bench to provide a season-best 16, helping Golden State
clinch a season-series win over the Jazz with a third consecutive
head-to-head win.
"Obviously, they're All-Stars and MVPs and all that," Jazz coach
Quin Snyder said. "Guys like Mo (Speights) made some great plays.
Made shots. (Leandro) Barbosa. (Shaun) Livingston. You go on and on.
That's what makes them so good."
Despite playing for a second consecutive night, Utah (29-35) hung
tight for the first 23 minutes before Golden State's last-minute
flurry in the first half created the game's first double-digit
margin.
Curry, who entered the game having made at least one 3-pointer in a
record 132 straight games, missed his first four attempts from
beyond the arc until finally connecting nearly 21 minutes into the
game.
Meanwhile, the Warriors struggled to retain a 43-41 lead into the
final minute of the first half before Curry connected from 26 feet
and Thompson from 29 feet in a six-point flurry that quickly
ballooned the lead to eight.
After Joe Ingles missed a 3-point attempt at the Utah end with 6.2
seconds left in the half, Curry grabbed the rebound, headed toward
midcourt and let fly with from just beyond the line. The shot banked
in, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and capping a 9-0 run that
produced a 52-41 advantage.
"He knows he has a chance to make it," Kerr said, "and he lets it
fly."
Curry's mad dash around the Warriors' bench and up the runway
leading to the Golden State locker room was equally impressive.
"It was a great exit," Kerr said. "Like when Bo Jackson ran out of
the (football) stadium (in Seattle). I'm glad he came back for the
second half.
"When he shoots those, you know it has a chance. It's incredible.
I've never seen anybody that accurate from midcourt."
Curry is now 4-for-11 on shots from 40 feet or more this season.
"That's not a surprise anymore," Green said. "To say that I know
it's going in is crazy, but you kind of get a feeling of, 'All
right, that one's good.'"
The Warriors went on to earn a 10th win in their past 11 meetings
with the Jazz, but it was a struggle for the better part of three
quarters. In fact, the frustration of their early difficulties
boiled over into technical fouls on Andrew Bogut, Curry and Andre
Iguodala.
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Golden State finally put the Jazz at arm's length with another
quarter-ending run, this one in the third period.
Utah was within 68-59 before Barbosa had seven points and Speights
five in a 13-4 spurt to close the third quarter and create an
18-point cushion entering the final period.
The quarter ended when, as the Jazz pressed up the court to keep
Curry from attempting another long-range shot, Barbosa snuck behind
the defense, hauled in a 60-foot pass from Speights and stunned Utah
with a buzzer-beating layup.
"It was a touchdown pass," Speights said. "I'm glad he caught it."
Curry's 12-point total was his lowest since a five-point struggle in
just 14 minutes on Jan. 2 against Denver. He did, however, find time
to complete his 12th double-double with 10 assists.
Meanwhile, Green complemented his 17 points with seven rebounds,
five assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
Backup guard Trey Burke hit all eight of his free throws to
highlight an 18-point night for the Jazz, who have lost seven of
eight after a 28-28 start.
Utah fell three games behind the Houston Rockets (32-32) in the race
for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
"To win here would have been quite a feat," Snyder said. "We're
going to have some more opportunities in the 18 games left.
Hopefully we get a chance to get some wins and just keep grinding
and see where we end up."
Gordon Hayward added 16 points but missed 10 of his 15 shots as the
Jazz shot just 40.5 percent from the field. The Warriors, on the
other hand, connected at a 57.1 percent clip.
Derrick Favors (11) and Trey Lyles (11) also scored in double
figures for the Jazz, who were coming off a 91-84 home loss to the
Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night. Center Rudy Gobert led all
rebounders with 15 to go with nine points.
NOTES: The Warriors surpassed 800 3-pointers in a season (they are
up to 804) for the second year in a row. ... Golden State PG Stephen
Curry and SG Klay Thompson set the record for most 3-pointers by
teammates in a single season with 525 last year. ... The Warriors
welcomed back reserve SF Andre Iguodala (tightness in left
hamstring), who missed three of the team's previous four games. He
scored four points in 22 minutes. ... The Jazz played without SG
Rodney Hood (sore back), who ranks second on the team in starts with
61. The Rising Star Challenge participant on All-Star Weekend said
he was bothered by a bad back since the break, and he shot just
26-for-78 (33.3 percent) in his past seven games. ... The Jazz fell
to 3-1 on the second night of home/road back-to-backs. They had
beaten Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix under those
circumstances earlier in the season.
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