Steph Curry couldn't keep this going forever, could he?
The Warriors' legendary sharpshooter returned to earth on Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards, marking his first dud in over a month -- and the end of an otherworldly streak of basketball on the offensive end.
The 33-year-old offensive dynamo had scored 30-plus points in 11 games going back to late March, a modern league record, according to ESPN.
Amazingly, he had made 10 or more 3-pointers in four of his previous five games entering Wednesday night's action, a mark no other player had reached so many as five times in their entire career, CBS Sports reported.
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Curry's long had a knack for knocking down circus shots, but he seemed to take it to another level during his run, routinely dazzling despite the best defensive efforts of opposing teams honing in on Golden State's undisputed go-to guy, now that the super team of last decade is no longer in tact.
On Wednesday, the two-time league MVP was uncharacteristically inefficient, shooting just 7-of-25 from the field, including 2-of-14 from deep, and finishing with 18 points in 36 minutes, his lowest scoring total since finishing with 18 points back on March 17.
Curry, who this week said he's "gotta be" the league MVP this season, reflected on his scorching streak with reporters following the loss to the Wizards, per ESPN.
"It was a great run," he said. "It was something that hadn't been done before. It was going to end at some point. Now you got to start another one. So it's just a matter of the next-play mentality. Just try to get rejuvenated when we go home -- to do it home, road, some big games, put a streak together.
"It was a special ride, for sure. And never really get too hyped up on individual streaks or accolades like that. There were some historical names that I was able to pass. And doing something at this age was pretty special."
Curry's brilliant stretch arguably peaked against the tough defense of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, when he went off for 49 points on 50% shooting from the field -- including a devastating 10-of-17 from deep and 11-of-12 from the free-throw line.
Asked to explain the second-half flourish, Curry told reporters he typically tends to play better as the season wears on.
"Peaking at the right time," he said. "Usually, the trend of our seasons, or my seasons, getting better as each game goes, so I'm glad this season's no different. Just trying to continue to get better and build that confidence of playing my best basketball towards the end of the season."
Coach Steve Kerr, who has praised Curry throughout his blistering streak for what he calls Curry's incredible work ethic, said Curry and his teammates were running on fumes on Wednesday.
"I thought the Wizards played well defensively," Kerr said. "Did some good things to get the ball out of Steph's hands. But nothing that Steph hasn't seen before. I thought we were gassed. I thought that included Steph and everybody -- we just didn't look like we had our legs out there tonight."
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