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NBA: Stephen Curry, Kyle Lowry Put On A Rare Show

By Phil Watson

Dec 5, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles past Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) and Warriors center Festus Ezeli (31) in the second quarter at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles past Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) and Warriors center Festus Ezeli (31) in the second quarter at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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It was a special show Saturday as Stephen  Curry and Kyle  Lowry went toe-to-toe, with each going for more than 40 points and seven assists. How rare is that? Read on.

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors showed their All-Star form Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre, combining for a rare NBA feat in Golden State’s 106-103 win.

While the Warriors extended the best start in NBA history to 21-0 while growing their winning streak to 25 games dating back to last season—the third-longest in NBA annals. Curry put up 44 points and dished out seven assists.

But Lowry, a first-time All-Star in 2014-15, didn’t back down from the challenge, answering with 41 points and seven dimes of his own.

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According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was just the seventh time in NBA history two players—teammates or opponents—have put up at least 40 points with at least seven dimes in the same regulation game.

Taking a look at Basketball-Reference’s fantastic game-finder feature (a must-have for the stat geek), it was the fourth time two players went for 40 and seven in the same non-overtime game since 1985-86.

The Last Time Was …

It was the first time it had happened since an April 1, 2006, game between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers (no foolin’), a game that featured young LeBron James and his future teammate, Dwyane Wade, squaring off.

James went for 47 points and nine assists, narrowly missing a triple-double to go with 12 rebounds, in Cleveland’s 106-99 victory over the soon-to-be NBA champs.

Wade had 44 points and nine dimes (along with eight rebounds) on a night the Heat were without All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal (because Michael Doleac was only a slight drop off).

James saved his best for last as he and Wade staged an epic fourth-quarter showdown. LeBron had 18 points and four assists in the final 12 minutes, while Wade tried to keep Miami in the game with 21 points of his own.

But James had help in the form of Damon Jones, who canned 3-of-4 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, while Wade generated all but five of the Heat’s points on his own.

Cleveland took the lead for good on a runner by James with 1:13 to play, closing the game with seven straight points.

About A Year Earlier…

James and Wade squared off a little less than a year after the last time two players went for 40 points and seven dimes in regulation time, April 5, 2005.

Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors went off for 40 points with 13 assists, adding five steals and five rebounds to lead the Warriors to a 122-117 surprise win over the playoff-bound Houston Rockets.

Tracy McGrady did what he could for Houston, registering 44 points, seven assists, five rebounds and four steals.

It was Golden State’s sixth straight win in a season they would finish 34-48. The Rockets went 51-31 but, as was the case for all but the last cameo of T-Mac’s career, lost in the first round of the playoffs.

McGrady and Davis’ tandem 40-7 nights marked the first time in 14 years—to the day—it had happened.

The Unlikeliest Battle Of The Ages

On April 5, 1991, the Rockets went to McNichols Arena  in Denver for a matchup with coach Paul Westhead’s entertaining but awful Denver Nuggets.

Michael Adams—in the midst of a career year for the Nuggets—went off for 41 points and eight assists in his efforts to keep Denver in the game.

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But he was outdone by Vernon Maxwell, who went for 45 points, seven assists and nine rebounds in Houston’s 126-120 victory.

Maxwell, always a streaky shooter, was on fire, hitting 8-of-12 from 3-point range in the contest. Adams was chucking with the best of them, finishing 15-of-34 on the night and 6-for-15 from deep, but Houston took an early lead and never looked back, holding off the Nuggets down the stretch while getting 29 points and 11 assists from Kenny Smith and 25 points from Otis Thorpe.

Maxwell’s eight 3-pointers were part of his NBA-leading 172 long bombs in 1990-91, which set a new single-season record that stood for just three years until Dan Majerle of the Phoenix Suns broke it with 192 made 3s in 1993-94.

The record Maxwell broke had belonged to none other than Adams, who had canned 166 for the Nuggets in 1988-89.

Notable for Denver, longtime journeyman Joe Wolf had one of the best games of his career, finishing with 18 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. He averaged 7.3 points and 5.4 boards for the season and 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds a game for his career.

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So it’s proof that it’s not always the megastars that have the special nights.