OAKLAND -- Approaching the podium Wednesday night fully aware that what was coming his way would not be about him or even the Warriors as a team, Kevin Durant embraced it anyway.
He was there to talk about the spectacle of Stephen Curry and on a night like this it was more Durant’s honor as a fellow athlete than duty as a teammate to start tossing rose petals at the feet of someone so richly deserving.
“It was a joy to be on the same court with that,” Durant said of Curry’s 51-point masterpiece in a 144-122 win over the Washington Wizards. “It was sick.”
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Never mind, then, that Durant had earned to right to be on the very same podium that Curry vacated minutes earlier.
Durant made his first five shots, getting the Warriors off the starting line by scoring 10 points in less than six minutes.
“Nothing but net, every shot,” coach Steve Kerr said.
Durant was rolling and he never cooled off.
Golden State Warriors
Curry, however, was blowtorch hot.
So Durant faded into the background about as much as possible for someone who scored 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting, while adding eight rebounds and seven assists and posting a plus-26 in 32 minutes.
“That’s part of being a good teammate, just knowing the flow of the game, when somebody’s got it cooking that way,” Durant said. “We don’t want to force anybody the ball on this team, but when a guy is just making shots that way, we try to do our best to support him and screen for him, throw him the rock and tell him to go ahead and be creative. He’s a pure artist. Tonight was no different.”
Curry scored 23 points in the first quarter, 31 in the half, then came back with 20 more in the third quarter.
Oracle Arena was rocking. The Wizards were reeling. The Warriors bench was rolling; Curry could hear his teammates imploring him to shoot the ball every time he crossed half court.
“I was the only one,” Durant lied in public while grinning. “So I need all of that credit.”
Durant had 10 in the first, 10 in the second and 8 in third, checking out with 8:31 remaining, shortly after throwing down a dunk.
So how did he assess his own work? With a critical eye, at least half-serious it seemed.
“I felt like I should have made those two 3s that I missed,” Durant said. “I missed a nice . . . I missed a couple . . . I feel like I should have made every one of my shots tonight.”
Ignoring the laughter, Durant continued.
“I felt like they were good. One of them I rushed, but I just felt like I should have made every one of them. I’ve got to get back in the lab and get my 3-pointer going. I’ve got to be better at the 3-point line.”
That’s how Kevin Durant walked out of Oracle Arena. Praising the greatness of Curry and downplaying his own excellence.