Everybody knows how talented Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is. The veteran out of Davidson is probably the best shooter the game of basketball has ever seen and he put that on display again in a 116-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday in The Bay.
Curry finished with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting and he knocked down six triples on 11 attempts on the night. He makes life tough for every opponent as he is a guy who can knock down any 3-pointer under duress and he makes it look so easy.
The Sixers started Matisse Thybulle on Wednesday and they challenged him to defend Curry. The third-year guard out of Washington did an admirable job, but there were plenty of times where Curry just got the best of him just because of who he is.
“It’s hard when you have got Steph Curry as your assignment because I can’t help,” said Thybulle. “There’s not much I can do besides try and guard him and they have so much firepower, it made it so I couldn’t impact the game as much as I wanted to, and to their credit they’re smart. They use him well to complement everyone else on the court.”
To Thybulle’s point, Curry was able to make everyone around him better. While he finished with the 25, Andrew Wiggins added 19 points, Jordan Poole had 17, and Juan Toscano-Anderson and Otto Porter Jr. scored in double-figures off their bench.
Thybulle was able to learn from his matchup with Curry as he continues his development as a defender. He is already considered an elite defender, but facing a guy like Curry is just on another level.
“For my own personal match up just the level of focus that is necessary because with a guy like him, he’s just a dynamic player with the ball and without so just for me, it was a challenge and this I knew that going into it,” Thybulle added. “To just to stay locked in and not, because he has this ability to lull guys to sleep and then this burst of speed and all of a sudden, he is wide open shooting 3s.”
Facing a guy like Curry can bring out the best in Thybulle. He is only going to get better from this and it will allow him to grow as a player.
“I was excited for the challenge,” he finished. “Obviously, I want to do better than I have done, but every time I step out onto the court it is a learning experience. Good or bad. Obviously, with a loss, there’s a little bit more to learn than sometimes with a win so I definitely have a lot to gain from this game.”
The Sixers will now return home after the long 6-game road trip to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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