42, 9 and 8: a parting shot

Don Nelson: “If Stephen Curry isn’t the rookie of the year, there’s something wrong.” Mercury News: The last rookie with such a line was Oscar Robertson.

‘My momma won’t let me’

Marcus on Stephen:

But quietly, Curry experiences a tiny bit of reservation. The love he receives, the hype that follows him, comes with a price.

Curry doesn’t want to inconvenience his loved ones. He doesn’t want to upstage his teammates. He doesn’t want to come off as a glutton for glory.

“He doesn’t take anything for granted, and he doesn’t think he’s entitled to anything,” said Steve Rossiter, one of Curry’s closest teammates at Davidson. “That’s not who he is.”

Curry said his parents, his high school coach, his girlfriend -- whom he first met six years ago in their church youth group -- and a couple Davidson teammates serve as his escape. They allow him a welcome relief from life on the pedestal.

Curry said he’s confident he won’t fall off, nor does he want off his high place. In his mind, it’s his calling to be humble while exalted.

“It’s possible to keep that forever,” Curry said of his pristine image. “It can’t be just for show. It’s got to be who you are. I’ve thought about this. I think it’s just who I am, who I was made to be.”

Rookie of the Year?

Marcus Thompson tonight on Twitter: More ROY fodder @DIMEMag @StephenCurry30 just broke the record for most made treys in a season for an NBA rookie (159). Kawakami: Here’s how. Bleacher Report after the other night in Minnesota: Curry fell two rebounds and three steals short of accomplishing a very rare quadruple-double. Wizards coach Flip Saunders: “He’s going to be a very good player in this league for a long time.”

Last night against the Mavs

Marcus Thompson: Stephen Curry may have had worse lines as a pro, but this was his worst performance. He was incredibly careless with the ball when the team still had a chance to make the game competitive. This ugliness went beyond the well-intentioned but forced passes that account for many of his turnovers. Along with those, he made some plain lazy passes on the perimeter that were swiped and clearly telegraphed a few others. I don’t know whether he has hit the wall or is losing focus with all the losing, but hopefully this is a one-off bad night and not a sign of things to come.

And then there’s this

I watched the first half of last night’s game on ESPN while pretending to work out at the gym, but then I left, because I’m old, and then I was busy today with work, so I didn’t check what happened until tonight when I plugged Stephen into Google News.

Which popped up the following headline from The Big Lead: Kobe Survives the Stephen Curry Show.

Which linked to Marcus Thompson’s story, which started with these two sentences:

Warriors guard Stephen Curry had a question for Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

With Lakers guard Shannon Brown at the line, Curry asked Bryant if he was worried.

Curry. Asked Bryant. If he was worried. During a game, by the way, against the defending NBA champs, in which he had 29 points and nine assists and not one turnover. Just when I feel my interest sort of start to wane ... Rookie of the Year. Cornerstone.

Says Doug Collins

The TNT analyst on Stephen: “This kid is a scoring machine. He absolutely has such a great feel to shoot the ball, he’s a very good ballhandler and an excellent passer.”

Watching from afar

Stephen: Just watched Davidson get a win on Senior Night. The boys are gonna make some noise in the SOCON tournament I know it. Just wait and see! Floor general.

Stephen out in Oakland

Marcus Thompson on Twitter: Curry sets new career high with pull-up 3 in transition. He’s got 34 on 11-for-18 FGs, 7-for-10 from 3-point range. Update: A triple-double. But not just any old triple-double -- 36, 13, 10. Tweets Marcus: one of six rookies ever to post 35/10/10. The other 5: Jason Kidd, Michael Jordan, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor. Cowie on Cats.com: And despite all those who would have liked him at Davidson one more year (me included), he’s exactly where he belongs (in the NBA I mean not with the Warriors). Chronicle.

Anthony Morrow on Stephen

To Marcus Thompson: “Any given night, Steph’s flirting around with a triple-double. Everybody knows he can score. I think he’s surprising a lot of people. He makes shots off the dribble, passes, rebounds. He’s a little better defender, he's a little better in every category than people think. I think he’s right up there with Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings.”

Stephen’s best game yet?

Marcus Thompson on his blog:

Curry’s performance, to my eye, was more impressive that Maggette’s because of the way he integrated his shots with finding opportunities for the rest of the team. If Curry is going to play with Ellis, he’s going to need to know when to feed the shooters and when to look for his own shots. He did a really nice job balancing the two in the first half. His second half disappearance until the final stretch is probably equal parts Denver defense and Warriors’ lack of sharing the ball. But even without touches for nearly 20 minutes, Curry came up big in the clutch. There are still some lazy passes and blown defensive assignments that translate into lost opportunities, turnovers and easy points, but he’s progressing nicely as a rookie. He’s got a steady hand when it counts, and that matters more than any box score can convey.

Monta: “If it wasn’t for Curry hitting the shots he hit and playing the way he played, we probably wouldn’t have had a chance to win tonight. He was awesome at both ends.” FanHouse: Stephen Curry played like he was back at Davidson.

Nellie on Stephen

After the Portland loss the other night: “He’s gotta toughen up.” Chronicle. And now on DavidsonNews.net: CurryNet.

Out in Oakland

Tonight brings Rondo and the Celtics. Stephen: “This is the NBA. No nights off.”

Stephen in Oakland

Stats: 13, 3 and 3 in 46 minutes in another loss. Thompson on Twitter: Warriors falling apart. Curry back-to-back turnovers. Stephen after the game: “In close games down the stretch, you’ve really got to buckle down and focus on what you’re doing. You’ve got to be willing to make plays, and I didn’t come through.”

Anthony Morrow’s pep talk

Went like this: “I told him, 'You averaged 30 at Davidson for a reason. It wasn’t like you were just throwing up shots. You were a basketball player. You were taken No. 7 for a reason.’ ”

Last night in San Antonio

Stephen: 11 points, five assists, seven rebounds. After the game: “The turnovers I had tonight were pretty lazy, which is why I was frustrated with myself. If I’m attacking the basket stronger and trying to make a play and I make a mishap, I’m fine with that. But the top of the key, making one-hand passes (that are) getting stolen, and finding myself trapped and getting those passes stolen, those are just dumb plays. That’s why I was frustrated. ... It’s just me being dumb.”

Warriors sans Jax

Marcus Thompson: Another contribution to the improved ball movement is the presence of Curry. He was forced back into the starting lineup Tuesday and Wednesday because of the injuries. Despite his rash of turnovers (nine the past two games), he’s been an aggressive playmaker, giving the Warriors an extra distributor. Tonight at home against the Blazers.

YouTube reminders

Marcus Thompson:

Before Saturday’s 129-125 loss at Milwaukee, Warriors rookie guard Stephen Curry logged onto YouTube and watched some highlight clips of himself.

“Remind myself that I can shoot the ball,” Curry said, “and just to be on the attack.”

Curry was on the attack against the Bucks, finishing with 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting in 26 minutes. It snapped a streak of six consecutive games scoring in single digits and washed away the sour taste of his New York experience. He played only three minutes against the Knicks on Friday.

Wonder what he watched. This? This? This? Or maybe this? Probably not this.

Last night in Milwaukee

A rookie point guard scored 55 points. Stephen had 14. Thompson: Say what you want about Curry, but he showed some life Saturday. He clearly wasn’t in Jennings’ stratosphere. But he went at Jennings, even ripped him once. Curry was 6-for-9 with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, a turnover and a block in 26 minutes. Not a bad stat line. The 5 fouls is becoming typical, however. But if he is going to be on the court, and thrive, he’s going to have to return to be more than just a distributor on offense. Meet him.

Stephen on not starting

After last night’s loss to the Pacers: “I’m guessing it’ll be for a couple of games, maybe, to see how it works. I don’t expect to start next game.”

Stephen on defense

Marcus Thompson:

The Clippers took advantage of Curry’s slight build -- 6-foot-3, 180 pounds -- and lack of experience. Guard Eric Gordon drove straight at Curry or ran him off a collection of screens. Point guard Baron Davis took Curry straight to the post.

Stephen: “I’ll just weather the storm. I’ll look at the film and see if there’s anything I could do differently ...” Sunday night: 9, 6 and 4 in a loss. Hard time.