Steph Curry scored an astonishing 50 points as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Sacramento Kings 120-100 in the seventh game of their NBA playoffs first-round affair.
Tied at 3-3 after six riveting matches, the Warriors' showdown with the Kings was the only first-round encounter to go the distance as the defending champions erased an early 2-0 deficit.
The Warriors were comprehensively trounced 118-99 in game six, but the brilliance of Curry came to the fore at Golden 1 Center as Steve Kerr's side avoided ceding their crown.
The two-time MVP racked up a half-century of points to write his name into the record books - no player in NBA history had ever scored 50 points in game seven of a playoff tie before.
Kerr's side faced a 56-58 deficit at half time before storming back, as Kevon Looney also posted 21 rebounds for the holders, while Domantas Sabonis led the way for the Kings with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Curry, whose Warriors outfit will now take on the Los Angeles Lakers in their semi-final, told ESPN after Saturday's triumph that proving the doubters wrong was spurring his team on for the playoffs.
STEPH CURRY'S 50-POINT GAME 7.
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2023
EVERY SINGLE POINT.#PLAYOFFMODE
He'll be back in action on Tuesday night 🍿
LAL/GSW Game 1: 10 PM ET on TNT pic.twitter.com/RwmH97S7O5
"We're defying the odds by still playing at this high of a level. I know everybody wants to see you fail," the 35-year-old said.
"That's kind of the nature of where we're at right now. We love when we still prove a lot of people wrong. It's part of our vibe now.
"You can always go into the memory bank of how you feel in these types of environments because there are still nerves and butterflies. Once the ball drops, it's just playing basketball at the end of the day."
Warriors coach Kerr unsurprisingly waxed lyrical about Curry as well, hailing the four-time NBA champion as one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
"You just have to remind yourself every once in a while, big picture, this is one of the greatest players in the history of the game," Kerr added.
"That's how I felt back in my playing days with Michael Jordan. For Steph to be the first player ever to get 50 in a Game 7, he's sublime.
"He's that good. His approach to these games is that he is going to go down swinging. He took 18 3s. Just one turnover. Because he had space, he was able to attack and be really aggressive."
Elsewhere the Conference semi-finals got underway with the Denver Nuggets recording a 125-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns, while the Miami Heat's 108-101 win over the New York Knicks was marred by an ankle injury to Jimmy Butler.
