The Golden State Warriors play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET. Listen to the live radio broadcast via the links provided below.
Golden State improved to 39-8 after their incredible comeback Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Warriors star Stephen Curry let it fly with 51 points, almost single-handedly digging his team out of an early 22-point deficit and rallying them to a 128-114 win. Twenty-six of his points came in the third quarter alone, and he finished the game having hit 10 of 16 from 3-point range.
"Sometimes Steph plays his best when we're down big, and he just senses that he has to put the Superman cape on," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, via ESPN. "And he's so good at it. He loves the freedom of being down and saying, 'All right. I'm going to let it fly and bring us back.' And that's what he did."
After a slow start, Curry heated up and couldn't be stopped, seemingly hitting any shot he wanted.
"If I had any kind of daylight off the pick-and-roll, I was going to shoot it," he said. "I had a good feel and a good rhythm."
Curry finished just three points shy of his career-best 54-point game on Feb. 27, 2013 at Madison Square Garden.
Atlanta, meanwhile, bounced back after having their 19-game winning streak ended Monday night against New Orleans with a win Wednesday against Washington. Moreover, the NBA this week rewarded Atlanta for posting the first 17-0 month in league history by naming all five of their starters - Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Al Horford, Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll - the Eastern Conference players of the month for January.
"We appreciate the recognition of our starters' play during this past month. It is reflective of all the work our entire team and organization has put in," said coach Mike Budenholzer, who will lead the East in the All-Star Game. "We place a strong emphasis on having the right approach every day and making daily improvement. Collectively, we know that we have a lot more work to do this season and look forward to continue growing as a team."
Atlanta and Golden State both lead their respective conferences, which makes Friday night a potential NBA finals preview.
