On January 8th, Beijing time, the Golden State Warriors suffered another loss at the hands of the Miami Heat, ending their own three-game losing streak. Despite Curry's impressive performance, his teammates struggled to match his level of play. Curry managed to help the Warriors close the gap to just two points in the final quarter, but defensive failures allowed the Heat to extend their lead to ten points, prompting Coach Kerr to concede defeat early. Curry finished the game with 31 points and 8 three-pointers, continuing his recent streak of accuracy.
Curry started the game with a hot hand, nailing a three-pointer from the top of the arc, followed by a mid-range shot and another three-pointer from the right 45-degree angle, igniting the crowd. He celebrated with Draymond Green after the first quarter, during which he played for 9 minutes, making 3 out of 7 shots and 2 out of 5 three-point attempts, scoring 8 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. Curry's most impressive moments in the first quarter were his successful rim protection under the basket, blocking shots from Herro and Harkless.
In the second quarter, Curry was the only one able to score from beyond the arc as the Heat employed a zone defense, giving up three-point opportunities. However, Hield made only 1 out of 6 attempts, Schroder missed all 5 of his shots, and Green was 0 for 3. Only Li Kaili and Curry had decent three-point efficiency, with Curry making 4 out of 5 three-pointers in the second quarter, single-handedly keeping the score close. At halftime, Curry had 12 shots made out of 7 attempts, including 6 out of 10 three-pointers, scoring 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Each of Curry's three-pointers seemed more difficult than the last.
In the third quarter, the Heat began double-teaming Curry, causing him to miss his first three-pointer. He had to rely on his teammates to handle the ball, with Schroder making one three-pointer and Curry assisting Green with a lob pass. Curry finally hit his third three-pointer of the quarter, contributing 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. In the fourth quarter, Curry hit his eighth three-pointer (his 86th game with at least 8 three-pointers), and after a layup, the Warriors had closed the gap to just two points.
Curry had already scored 28 points when he committed a foul on Jovic, resulting in a 3+1 play. Jovic then made another three-pointer, extending the Heat's lead back to ten points. Curry was fouled by Rozier and was subbed out for rest. With 5 minutes and 8 seconds remaining, Curry returned to the court but missed a long-range three-pointer. With 3 minutes and 46 seconds left in the game, the Heat still led by 14 points. After a timeout called by Coach Kerr, the Warriors went on a 0-4 run, leading to a frustrated Curry tossing the ball. Kerr called another timeout and conceded defeat.
In the entire game, Curry played for 33 minutes, making 11 out of 22 shots and 8 out of 17 three-pointers, scoring 31 points, 7 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and 4 turnovers, with a shooting percentage of 50% and a three-point percentage of 47%. His real plus-minus value was 69.1%, and his plus-minus value was -10.
The American media outlet NBA Memes posted a picture of Curry needing help with the caption: "The Golden State Warriors are wasting Stephen Curry's prime years."
