Steph Curry on Warriors repeat quest: 'It's just playing basketball at the end of the day'

SAN FRANCISCO -- When Steph Curry walked up the podium Sunday, his hooded sweatshirt said it all.  Emblazoned on it were the words -- 'Trophy Hunting.'

The sweat had hardly dried from his performance for the ages -- an NBA playoff Game 7 record 50 points in carrying the Golden State Warriors to a 120-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings.

When asked if anyone could ever stop him when he gets into the kind of zone he found himself in on Sunday, a sly smile just lit up his face.

"Hopefully, we'll never find out," was his answer.

With running mates Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole struggling, the contest boiled down to a battle of wills. Curry's steely confidence against the youthful inexperience of the Kings, who were coming off a dominating Game 6 victory over Golden State on the Warriors homecourt.

"At the end of the day, we know who we are," Curry told reporters. "These last 36 hours we were trying to regroup and figure out what our adjustments were going to be and how we were going to come out."

During the series,  the Warriors have opened games with turnovers and disorganization allowing Sacramento to build momentum early. Not on Sunday.

"We had a great talk yesterday (Saturday), a great film session," Curry said. "There's still nerves and anxiousness, anticipating a big night but when we got out there our experience took over and we felt comfortable as a group."

"We love the atmosphere. We've been doing it for a very long time," he added. "So once the ball drops, it's just playing basketball at the end of the day."

Curry took 38 of the Warriors 100 shots, but he didn't appear force many and just let the flow of the game dictate his choices.

"Obviously, I get up 38 shots for a reason," he told reporters. "We started to see where the holes (in the Kings defense) were and I could be aggressive, get looks and it worked."

Curry also only turned the ball over just one time -- almost as remarkable as his scoring output considering how often he had the ball in his hands and his history of sometimes sloppy play.

"What an incredible performance," Thompson said. "This is a Game 7 I'll forever remember as the Steph Curry game."  

If there was a clink in the armor, it surprising came at the free line. Among the NBA's most accurate shooters from the line, Curry missed five over the final two games of the series.

So why was he grinning when he stepped up to the line to shoot a pair after missing the two previous attempts on Sunday?

"Attitude can manifest a lot of things," he said. "I told Q (assistant coach Bruce Fraser) on the sidelines, I missed 5 free throws over the last five games. That's not like me. But never overthink it, just enjoy the moment. So the smile was intentional. Trying to just be in the present."

Now LeBron James and the Lakers await Tuesday night. It will be the first playoff series against James since Golden State went 3-1 in four consecutive NBA Finals beginning in the 2014-15 season against the LeBron led Cleveland Cavaliers. 

"We're blessed to be playing at this level still," Curry said. "I'm excited about a new chapter. Two teams trying to keep their season alive and chasing a championship."