Steph Curry exploded for a season-high 51 points on 15-of-24 shooting Wednesday night as the Golden State Warriors ran the Wizards out of the gym, 144-122.

Six Wizards players scored in double figures tonight led by Bradley Beal with 23 and Kelly Oubre Jr. with 17 off the bench but it would be all for naught on a night where Curry stole the show and Kevin Durant put up a ‘quiet’ 30 points.

In typical Warriors fashion, Golden State raced out to a quick lead in this one. But give Washington credit as they were able to stay within striking distance even with the Curry & Durant avalanche in full effect as the duo combined for 33 points in the opening period en route to a 46-37 lead after one quarter.

Both teams cooled down considerably at the beginning of the second quarter and for a split second, it looked like Washington might be able to chip away at Golden State’s lead. Mistakes and turnovers hurt twice as much when playing the Warriors but even with a few hiccups, the Wizards kept it within single digits as they trailed by nine, 80-71 at halftime.

But one round of feasting on this Wizards defense wasn’t enough, Steph wanted seconds. Curry hit one three-pointer after another in the third period highlighted by a sequence where an alley-oop attempt from Curry to Durant was broken up only to end up in Curry’s hands where he’d drain a corner three and get fouled.

Curry scored 51 points on 24 shots and this one became so lopsided that Curry didn’t need to play in the fourth quarter. All you can do is tip your cap on a night like this and move onto the next one. Wizards fall 144-122.

Takeaways

First quarter onslaught from Steph Curry sets the tone for the night

Un-guardable. Or maybe, unfair. Those were the only two words you can use to describe Curry’s output in the first quarter and really, for the entire evening.

Midway through the opening period, Curry did his dance against Tomas Satoransky to shake free for a deep three-pointer drawing ‘oohs and ahs’ from the crowd. Just seconds later, Curry hit yet another deep three making everyone watching think, “oh, it’s going to be one of those nights.”

Curry ended the period with 23 points on 8-11 shooting and knocked down five of his six three point attempts. Even more impressively, he scored 18 of the final 20 points for Golden State to close out the period. There’s not much you can do when Curry is in one of these zones besides hoping he cools down before it’s too late.

Kevin Durant also started 5-of-5 from the field for 10 points in the first quarter but that would only be good enough for second place tonight.

Small ball proves to be a OK option

For the second game in a row, the small ball lineup proved to be fairly effective as the Wizards were able to hang around in this one in the first half. Kelly Oubre had a strong half leading the Wizards with 15 points as he stepped in nicely while Beal was dinged up in the first quarter. Jeff Green also had a nice half at the center position with 10 points as the Wizards were able to drop 71 through the first two quarters. The only problem was, they were up against the buzzsaw that is the Golden State Warriors.

For as good as the small ball offense was, rebounding and defense still remains a major problem and will be something to keep an eye out for so long as the Wizards aren’t trotting a true center out there.

Young guys get some run

Rookie Troy Brown Jr., Thomas Bryant got their first taste of action with the Wizards in garbage time tonight. Jordan McRae, who played 11 seconds in the season opener, got over 12 minutes of playing time in this one.

Next up: The Wizards face the Kings in Sacramento on Friday at 10 pm.