Stephen Curry’s offense might lead to better defense out of the Warriors, at least according to Jimmy Butler.
The Warriors’ big trade deadline acquisition marveled at the play of Curry after he put up 56 points in Thursday night’s 121-115 win over the Magic.
Curry shot 16 of 25 from the field and 12-for-19 from 3-point range on a night where he fell six points short of tying his single-game high of 62 points.
Butler, who is now eight games into his Warriors career, explained how a performance like Curry’s inspired everyone on Golden State to want to be great.
“It’s a big energy boost for everybody in this locker room. It makes everyone want to be great, especially on the defensive side of the floor,” Butler told reporters. “So we can get the ball back and watch him go do something incredible on the offensive side.”
The Warriors have now won five straight and seven of their last eight games.
Butler explained that he’s quickly learned that an outburst like that from Curry isn’t abnormal for him.
“It’s kind of, in a weird way, isn’t it kind of expected by now?” Butler said.
Curry had put up at least 20 points in 12 of his last 14 games.
He called the experience on Thursday night “fun” while complimenting the “really cool atmosphere” inside Kia Center in Orlando.
The Golden State star said after a slow start to the game, he and the team felt the energy moving in the right direction in the second half.
“Once you see a couple go down, juices start flowing and the rim grows and you just keep shooting and having fun with it,” Curry told reporters.
