As we close out 2025, it’s time to look back at the single most gold-blooded performance Stephen Curry delivered all year. Not the highest-scoring game or the flashiest highlight reel. I’m talking about the one that mattered most when everything was on the line.
Game 3 against Houston in the playoffs was that moment.
Jimmy Butler was out with a bruised glute, courtesy of Houston’s
brand of “playoff basketball” that somehow always involves questionable physical play. The Warriors had just dropped Game 2 on the road. The Rockets had the blueprint figured out: trap Steph like his life depended on it, force everyone else to create offense, and watch Golden State’s roster fall apart like it had all season long.
For much of the game, it looked like Houston’s plan was working perfectly.
The Warriors were stuck at 22 points six minutes into the second quarter. They’d scored just four points during a suffocating 17-4 Rockets run that felt like watching quicksand swallow the season whole. Chase Center was nervous. This looked like the sub-.500 team that stumbled through the regular season without Butler, teammates tentatively dribbling into nowhere while Curry got hounded 40 feet from the basket.
Houston led by as many as 13 points. Ime Udoka was on the sideline looking like a crime boss watching his master plan unfold. Fred VanVleet was shoulder-checking people and getting rewarded with whistles. Dillon Brooks was doing Dillon Brooks things.
The Warriors needed a savior and they got one.
Curry scored 13 points in the second quarter as Golden State closed the half on a 9-0 run, cutting a potential blowout to just three points. He added 12 more in the third quarter on 5-for-6 shooting. Every single time the Rockets thought they’d broken the Warriors’ will, Curry found another way to bend their defense until it snapped.
He finished with 36 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, and just two turnovers on 12-of-23 shooting. The efficiency is absurd given the defensive attention. Houston was throwing bodies at him like they were auditioning for a WWE tryout, and he still carved them up with surgical precision. An iconic moment came early in the fourth quarter when Curry passed Tony Parker for 10th on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list. How did he do it? With a vicious crossover on Dillon Brooks before draining a three in his face. It was his 60th career playoff game with 30-plus points, joining an exclusive club of just eight players in league history.
That’s way beyond just scoring, we’re talking legacy building in real time.
Here’s what made Game 3 the most gold-blooded performance of the year: Curry didn’t just save the Warriors with his own brilliance; he created the energy that allowed everyone else to elevate. What does gold-blooded actually mean? It’s performing when the stakes are highest, the circumstances are worst, and everyone’s watching to see if you’ll fold. It’s dragging your team back from the edge when they have no business winning. It’s making history while simultaneously making winning plays. Curry delivered all of that on April 26th without his co-star, against a defense built specifically to neutralize him, in a game the Warriors absolutely had to have.
As we head into 2026, this performance stands as the reminder of what makes Curry special. It’s not just the shooting. It’s the relentless will to find a way when there shouldn’t be one. It’s the ability to elevate everyone around him through sheer force of excellence and competitive spirit. Here’s to more moments like this in the new year. Happy New Year, Dub Nation! Let’s keep the good vibes rolling.
