Golden State Warriors @ Indiana Pacers
Thursday, February 8, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN | Game ID: 22300733
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
IND 34 24 18 33 109GSW 45 25 25 36 131
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Stephen Curry scores 29 of 42 points in 1st half, hits 11 3s to help Warriors beat Pacers, 131-109
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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
IND KarmaHide StintsShow StintsHide PMShow PMHide KarmaShow KarmaHide ScoresShow Scores
Who
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
INDAN A. Nembhard
AN A. Nesmith
BM B. Mathurin
BS B. Sheppard
IJ I. Jackson
JS J. Smith
MT M. Turner
OT O. Toppin
PS P. Siakam
TH T. Haliburton
TM T. McConnell
GSWAW A. Wiggins
BP B. Podziemski
DG D. Green
DŠ D. Šarić
GS G. Santos
JK J. Kuminga
KL K. Looney
LQ L. Quinones
MM M. Moody
SC S. Curry
SA Saric
TJ T. Jackson-Davis
IND/GSW the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur