Why Steph was mad at himself after incredible 49-point game

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A lot of people would be happy if they scored 49 points (on 14-of-28 shooting and 10-of-17 3-pointers, no less) in a win over an (albeit short-handed) NBA Finals favorite.

A lot of people aren't Steph Curry.

Curry admitted to ESPN's Lisa Salters he was upset after the Warriors' 107-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

"I got poked in the eye, and I missed that free throw," Curry told Salters in a 1-on-1 interview. "I wanted it. It was a gift at the end."

Danny Green fouled Curry with 18.1 seconds remaining in regulation, and Curry needed to hit both free throws to reach an even 50 points.

Curry, a career 90.7 percent free-throw shooter, missed the first and made the second.

Esteemed colleague Monte Poole put it best.

The two-time NBA MVP nonetheless had plenty of reasons to be happy. The Warriors moved back to .500 (29-29) with the win, and within a game of the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference playoff race. Golden State still has four games -- and three teams -- standing in its way of the sixth seed and, thus, avoiding the play-in games altogether.

But the Warriors have now won four of their last five games, and Curry's arguably playing his best basketball ever.

"We played our butts off tonight all the way through," Curry continued. "Obviously short-handed [without Juan Toscano-Anderson]. We know they had [Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris] missing, too. But coming off a tough game in Boston, turn back around and win a game like we did tonight -- with the start that we had tonight -- was huge. Everybody contributed. We know how tough Joel [Embiid] is. It was a fun game for us."

RELATED: Steph overtakes Beal as NBA's leading scorer in Dubs' win

The Warriors conclude their road trip Wednesday against the Washington Wizards, before returning to Chase Center for a three-game homestand. After Wednesday, Golden State only plays four more road games for the remainder of the regular season.

Chase Center is allowed to welcome fans at 30 percent capacity starting Friday, and Dub Nation probably won't hold Curry to as high of a standard as he will hold himself.

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