National Basketball Association

Did Steph Curry clinch the MVP award Thursday night?

Published Apr. 10, 2015 12:43 p.m. ET

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By John Wilmes

This year’s NBA MVP race has been as close as they come. Between Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, LeBron James, James Harden and Steph Curry, there are six candidates truly worthy of the award. Curry and Harden, however, have been more deserving than the rest, and the hardest part of calling the competition has been deciding between these two.

For most voters, that choice got a lot easier last night. In a 116-105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Curry led his Golden State Warriors with 45 points and 10 assists, shooting an obscene 17-of-23 from the field (74 percent), including 8-of-13 from beyond arc. This, on the same night that he broke the previous record (his own) for most three-pointers by one player in a season.

Those numbers are baffling, but the sight of how Steph got to them was even more so; the ease of his virtuoso was especially startling last night. Against Portland, he was completing sequences that even other elite NBA players can only dream about executing on an empty floor, with nobody guarding them. Steph dribbled through defensive obstacles like they were tissue paper all night — and especially in the fourth quarter — pulling up to drop smooth mortar into the net from any spot on the court of his choosing.

It was the perfect cornerstone game to display what Curry’s done all year, and show why he’s even more impressive than the amazing Harden. Steph is not only an offense unto himself, but he’s one that you have to account for like it’s an atomic bomb, the second he crosses the half-court line. His immaculate handles mean he can quickly get to any spot, and his shooting range (perhaps better than anyone’s, ever) makes him a threat to score from virtually any of those locations.

Nothing like Curry — the indomitable engine to basketball’s best team — has ever been seen before.

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