Maybe Stephen Curry heard the whispers. Maybe he searched the internet and saw comments about his performance.

Check that out. No “maybes” in it. Curry has heard and seen it all because his nature has been to scan and take a look since he was a teenager. Especially given the criticism.

After going 24 minutes without a field goal and scoring just two points in a 51-point loss to the Grizzlies in Memphis on Thursday, Curry bounced back with a boom Saturday night against the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

After the Warriors blew a 21-point lead in the first half and faded in the fourth quarter, Curry carried them to the finish line. The reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year scored 13 of his game-high 31 points in the final 3:38 to secure a 113-103 win.

“It’s great to see,” Trayce Jackson-Davis told reporters at Target Center. “A lot of people doubted this man, but he’s been doing this for a long time. He can explode like that every night. We just need him in every game. We can’t just rely on him – everyone has to do their part – but when he looks that good it helps our team a lot.”

Curry’s funeral for the resurgent Timberwolves was an overwhelming response to his miserable performance in Memphis, prompting some citizens of Dub Nation to sit down at their keyboards and take to social media to wonder if the inevitable was coming for the NBA’s 16th year -Veteran.

Is 36-year-old Steph Curry entering the phase where his superstar status begins to wane?

Not if you’ve seen Curry’s brilliance on the track.

When the Timberwolves got within two points (96-94) with 3:55 left, Curry hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to five. He followed with two free throws 22 seconds later, increasing the lead to seven, 101-94, with 3:16 left. His triple gave the Warriors a 104-94 lead with 2:41 left.

When a shot from Donte DiVincenzo cut the lead to eight, Curry hit another three-pointer to give the Warriors an 11-point lead (107-96) with 2:09 to play.

“It felt good,” Curry said. “We needed a win. We needed a feel-good experience after the Memphis game.”

Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II made crucial plays down the stretch, but almost everything the Warriors did well down the stretch was either a credit to Curry or a benefit of his presence.

Coach Steve Kerr has seen it before and made it clear that he wants everyone on the team, especially the young players, to understand Curry’s power — and that he still has what it takes to be the focal point of a potent offense.

“I love the possession where Steph got the ball and we went swing-swing,” Kerr said. “He threw it in the pocket of either Trayce (Jackson-Davis) or Gary, swings it to Wiggs, Wiggs swings it to Dennis (Schröder) and it comes back to Steph. That’s exactly the game.

“And that’s what we try to convey to our young players. We have Steph Curry on our team. So, pass the ball. Move the ball. And if Steph goes out early because he gained an advantage, now the defense is in trouble.”

Kerr was referring to Curry’s 3-pointer that gave Golden State a 107-96 lead with just over two minutes left. Curry held off the “night-night” celebration, but that shot interrupted his excitement that put the Timberwolves to sleep.

STEPH WITH 11 CONSECUTIVE DUBS POINTS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/71BTPdUXyV

– Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 22, 2024

“That’s how we played for 10 years,” Kerr said of a Curry-based system. “And it’s important for our young players to understand that we don’t need competitive 17-footers with 12 (seconds) on the shot clock. That’s a bad shot. And I talked to our guys about it during several timeouts. This is something we need to recognize and therefore improve.

“When you have Steph Curry on the team, you pass the ball. Because (if) you do it two or three times, the defense starts to falter. All hell breaks loose.

“It’s a choice. Either we can do that and win games, or we can fire a bunch of contested 15-foot shots in the middle of the shot clock, that can be a lousy NBA team. It’s up to us. And we make this point clear with our team.”

Draymond Green doesn’t need the hammer; he knows it. Kevon Looney, Wiggins, Payton, Schröder certainly all know it.

Perhaps Kerr’s message will resonate from one end of the roster to the other, as it should. When something works, as it usually does in a Curry offense, give him a chance to punish the opponent.

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