words // Brandon Richard
Kobe Bryant's 61. Reggie Miller's 8 points in 9 seconds. Michael Jordan's "double nickel." Many of the NBA's most memorable individual performance's have taken place on the biggest stage of them all — New York City's Madison Square Garden. And why not? No matter the circumstance, when you're at MSG, the lights shine bright, the stars come out and all eyes are on you. Perhaps that served as motivation for Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who lit up the Knicks for 54 points Wednesday night and became the latest player to have a career-defining moment at the Mecca.
The second generation sharpshooter was in a zone for the ages, knocking down 11 of his 13 three-point attempts. Overall, 18-of-28 and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. SB Nation's Paul Flannery put it best when he tweeted, "Whenever Steph Curry misses, I don't believe it." It certainly felt like one of those kinds of nights.
Curry's hot hand and playmaking kept the Warriors afloat, but the absence of suspended All-Star forward David Lee and the team's inability to get stops down the stretch proved to be too much to overcome. Despite Steph's historic 54, the Warriors fell short to the Knicks by a score of 109 - 105. The 54 points were the most by an NBA player in defeat since Kobe scored 58 in a triple-overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on December 29, 2006.
On Curry's feet for this masterful performance was a Player Exclusive colorway of the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse 2012. Debuted by Steph during All-Star Weekend, this special make-up features a yellow base, red Swoosh branding, teal paneling along the collar and heel and extraterrestrial print on the midsole. Curry also sharpied the quote, "I can do all things" on the toe in black.
Where does Curry's MSG performance rank among the best you've seen? Should Nike salute it with a Quickstrike release of the PE Hyperfuse?
