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Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors lost their first game of the 2021-22 NBA season to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday (October 28) night.
After being led by a game-high 19 points, Ja Morant led the Grizzlies comeback to force overtime where the side eventually went on to win 104-101.
Curry recorded 36 points in the losing performance. In his 41 minutes of playing time, however, a huge concern for the Warriors' superstar was that he did not score in the fourth quarter or in overtime.
When addressing the situation regarding his end-game scoring drought, as per Janie McCauley of the Associated Press, Curry had this to say on the matter:
"The last two shots of regulation, I missed the last one. The game winner looked good. Those are two shots I take every day of the week. Overtime, I think I pressed a little bit. Maybe settling a little bit, especially when I didn't have it going from three and not, you know, getting into the paint, getting my runners off, get the ball moving. Little critical of myself on those last three shots. But, you know, with the way teams guard, I've got to be able to be a threat. I don't know how many field goal attempts I've got over the last three games. Didn't seem like a lot."
As Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors look to bounce back from their first loss of the season, a more pressing issue arises in the form of Curry's field goal drought in the fourth quarter.
Stephen Curry scores 36 points in Golden State Warriors' loss to the Memphis Grizzlies
Stephen Curry started off the season looking like the MVP candidate he is. Despite a miserable shooting performance in the season opener against the LA Lakers, Curry still recorded a triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
However, his 5-21 shooting numbers from the previous game were quickly washed away in the following game against the LA Clippers. A 45-point game, featuring 16-25 from the field overall, also saw Curry start the game with 25 points on 9-9 shooting in the first quarter.
Stephen Curry continued his scoring rampage over the next two games, as he recorded 27 points against the Sacramento Kings and 23 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
His performance against the Memphis Grizzlies was also brilliant. However, the problem over the course of the last three games has been the same. Curry failed to score in the fourth quarter in all of them.
Curry's minutes are being managed to preserve him for the long season. However, 0-11 from the field in the fourth quarter/OT may be a bit of a concern as it appears to be a developing pattern.
The scoring mastery of recording these numbers in three quarters is impressive in itself. But as the Warriors continue to return to championship form, Stephen Curry's fourth quarter drought will have to come to an end should the team find itself in clutch situations.
