Stephen Curry’s 26,711th career point came with 7:03 left in the first quarter, when another three-pointer dropped through the net at Chase Center. The basket pushed him past Oscar Robertson into 17th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. For a few seconds, Golden State had its celebration. Then basketball got ugly.
Curry missed seven of his first eight shots. Miami punched out an early 10-point lead, and Klay Thompson, his former Splash Brother, stood on the opposite side wearing a Heat jersey. By halftime, Curry had scored just seven points on 2-for-10 shooting. Golden State had scratched its way to a 53-53 tie against a Miami team featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
The Warriors needed another comeback. They had already overcome double-digit deficits in their previous three victories. Then Curry caught fire. He scored 22 points after halftime, Draymond Green dismantled Miami’s defensive possessions with 11 assists, and Golden State buried the Heat 120-100 on Thursday, November 5.
Six consecutive victories followed an 0-3 start. Curry climbed another rung on the scoring ladder. Suddenly, a team that looked disjointed in October stood at 6-3. But the most impressive part of Thursday’s win wasn’t Curry catching Robertson. Golden State survived a miserable half from its 38-year-old superstar without letting the game slip away. That’s a more valuable development than another individual record.
Ten turning points behind Curry’s milestone and the Warriors’ winning streak
The Warriors didn’t stumble into six consecutive victories. Their recovery started with two wild comebacks, continued through a strange reunion, and ended with Curry tearing apart Miami after halftime.
10. A 25-point hole against the Lakers started Golden State’s comeback habit
On October 30, the Los Angeles Lakers walked into Chase Center and tore through Golden State’s defense. Luka Dončić scored 21 points in the opening quarter. Los Angeles built a 38-15 advantage, leaving the Warriors staring at a 23-point deficit after 12 minutes. Their biggest hole reached 25.
Then the game flipped. Golden State won the second quarter 38-15, matching the Lakers’ opening-period scoring margin exactly. The Warriors erased the deficit before halftime and eventually cruised to a 112-95 victory. Curry delivered 31 points and eight three-pointers. Brandin Podziemski added 21, while De’Anthony Melton scored 16 off the bench.
The fourth quarter also brought a personal milestone. Curry passed Dominique Wilkins, who finished his career with 26,668 points, to move into 18th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The victory displayed Golden State’s offensive ceiling. It also exposed an uncomfortable flaw. A team capable of erasing 25 points shouldn’t need to surrender that much ground before finding its pulse.
Still, the Lakers game established a useful precedent. Golden State could recover without reducing every possession to a Curry isolation or a desperate three-pointer. The Warriors had discovered their capacity for violent scoring swings. Next came the harder task: making those swings repeatable.
9. Phoenix exposed the same weakness before the Warriors escaped again
Three days later, the Phoenix Suns presented another problem. Golden State trailed 31-19 after the opening quarter on November 2. Phoenix eventually stretched its lead to 17, forcing Steve Kerr’s team into another prolonged chase. Curry scored 34 points. Charles Bassey provided a career-high 19 off the bench, grabbed eight rebounds, and gave the Warriors valuable interior scoring.
Golden State recovered for a 116-113 victory, extending its winning streak to five games. The result carried another warning. The Warriors could manufacture points quickly, but they kept allowing opponents to dictate the opening stretch. Against Phoenix, they needed a furious third-quarter scoring burst and a tense finish to escape.
That pattern shouldn’t comfort anyone dreaming about another championship run. Four straight escapes from double-digit deficits sounded less like a reliable winning model than a payday loan. The interest always comes due. Curry’s 34 points also left him sitting at 26,708 career points, just two shy of tying Robertson’s 26,710.
One three-pointer against Miami would put Curry ahead of another basketball giant. The record seemed inevitable. Another clean Warriors performance did not.
8. Klay Thompson’s Miami return brought Golden State’s past into the building
Before Thursday’s game, Chase Center welcomed someone who helped turn the building’s franchise into a dynasty. Klay Thompson returned wearing Miami colors. The Heat had rebuilt their roster during the summer, trading for Antetokounmpo in July and signing Thompson in August after his Dallas Mavericks buyout. The new arrangement paired the former Warriors sharpshooter with Antetokounmpo and Adebayo.
For Golden State fans, seeing Thompson alongside those stars took some adjustment. Curry and Thompson had won four championships together. Their shooting partnership changed the geometry of NBA offenses, forcing defenders to respect the three-point line far beyond traditional shooting spots. Now Thompson had come back as an opponent. He received a warm ovation before tipoff, a reminder that leaving Golden State hadn’t erased what he built there.
The reunion carried genuine competitive tension, too. Thompson had scored 30 points against the Los Angeles Clippers the previous night, including the decisive three-pointer with one second remaining in overtime. Miami escaped that game 117-116. Thompson arrived in San Francisco with eight made threes from that performance.
Against Golden State, he finished with 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting, including two three-pointers. Former Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins also returned in a Heat uniform, recording two points and six rebounds. The former Splash Brothers shared the floor again, but their careers had moved into different chapters.
Curry continued hunting scoring records in Golden State. Thompson now tried to help Miami build something new. The reunion felt sentimental before tipoff. Once the ball went up, neither player received special treatment.
7. Curry’s first three-pointer pushed him past Oscar Robertson
With 7:03 remaining in the first quarter, Curry connected from beyond the arc. The shot moved his career scoring total to 26,711 points, one ahead of Robertson’s 26,710. Curry officially took 17th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Robertson spent 14 seasons redefining what a guard could accomplish. He averaged a triple-double during the 1961-62 season, producing 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game. Curry changed the position through a different weapon. Robertson punished opponents with size, balance, scoring, and extraordinary playmaking. Curry stretched defenses until traditional coverage rules began to collapse.
Comparing their careers through one scoring total would miss most of what made either player exceptional. Still, there was something fitting about Curry passing Robertson with a three-pointer. His greatest weapon carried him past a guard whose all-around brilliance had transformed the position decades earlier.
Yet Curry’s milestone barely settled the basketball problem unfolding around him. Miami had established an early advantage. The Warriors struggled to control the opening minutes, and their leading scorer couldn’t find a steady rhythm. For once, the record book offered the easy part of Curry’s night.
6. Miami’s switching defense dragged Curry into a miserable first half
Erik Spoelstra’s defense had a clear priority: make Curry work for clean shooting chances. Bam Adebayo switched onto the Warriors guard during screening actions, using his size and mobility to disrupt Curry’s rhythm. Miami also challenged Golden State’s attempts to create easy offense away from the ball.
The strategy worked for long stretches. Curry missed a 19-foot step-back in the second quarter and several attempts from beyond the arc. Those misses included deep looks from roughly 25 feet, where he usually punished hesitant defenders. Not every attempt came under suffocating pressure. Golden State created some makeable opportunities. Curry simply missed shots that normally helped him establish rhythm.
Through his first eight attempts, he had made one. At halftime, Curry stood at seven points on 2-for-10 shooting, including 1-for-5 from three-point range. Miami had limited the league’s most dangerous long-range shooter without completely abandoning its interior defense. But the Heat couldn’t turn his shooting struggles into a commanding lead.
Will Richard supplied early baskets. Yaxel Lendeborg attacked openings near the rim, while Golden State’s reserves kept possessions moving instead of waiting for Curry to rescue them. Adebayo’s switching disrupted the first option. Green’s passing helped the Warriors find the next one.
The response demanded quick decisions: slip behind defenders who leaned toward Curry, move the ball through Green near the middle, and attack before Miami reset its coverage. Golden State reached halftime tied at 53. Surviving a 2-for-10 Curry half without getting blown off the floor offered the clearest proof that these Warriors no longer lived and died on every jumper their oldest superstar launched. That’s not a championship guarantee. It’s a necessary first step.
5. Draymond Green’s outlet pass changed the first-half tempo
Late in the second quarter, Draymond Green collected a defensive rebound and fired a long outlet into Curry’s stride, sending him racing toward a transition layup before Miami could organize its defense. One pass cut through the confusion. Green didn’t need to dribble through traffic or call another set. He recognized Curry’s head start and delivered the ball early enough to make the defense irrelevant.
Golden State briefly moved ahead before Miami recovered to tie the game at halftime. The play captured the value of Green’s offensive instincts. His passing gave the Warriors a second way to attack aggressive coverage. When defenders followed Curry around screens, Green could receive the release pass and look for cutters. When opponents crowded the paint, he could redirect the ball toward an open shooter.
Against a defense built around Adebayo’s switches, those reads mattered. Green finished with 11 assists, his highest total through Golden State’s first nine games. He also reached 130 career regular-season games with at least 10 assists. His influence extended well beyond one full-court outlet.
Golden State finished the night with a season-high 36 assists, consistently finding chances before Miami could settle into its preferred matchups. The offense didn’t need 36 miracles. It needed 36 smart final passes.
4. Curry turned an 18-3 third-quarter run into Miami’s breaking point
Miami didn’t collapse immediately after halftime. Thompson knocked down a jumper to give the Heat a 61-58 advantage early in the third quarter. Golden State again faced a deficit, and Curry had yet to establish his usual scoring rhythm. Then the Warriors attacked.
Curry connected from deep. He found space inside the arc for a two-point basket, knocked down another three, and drew a foul on a long-range attempt. The three free throws completed an 11-point burst during Golden State’s 18-3 run. Two three-pointers. One two-point field goal. Three free throws. That accounted for all 11 points, and Miami suddenly found itself chasing a completely different offense.
Curry stopped looking trapped inside the Heat’s switching structure. Adebayo couldn’t cover every screening action, and Golden State exploited the seconds when Miami’s defenders lost contact with their assignments. Al Horford supplied another problem for the Heat. His ability to shoot from outside pulled defenders away from the paint, while his quick decisions helped sustain the run.
The Warriors also punished Miami’s turnovers. Instead of slowing down to organize another half-court possession, Golden State pushed ahead and forced mismatches before the Heat could recover. Curry scored 14 points in the third quarter and made three three-pointers. Golden State won the period 38-23 and entered the fourth leading 91-76.
The Warriors had taken control of the game in 12 minutes. A 15-point lead didn’t demand another spectacular comeback. It demanded discipline. For the first time all night, Golden State made Miami carry the burden.
3. Green and the Warriors cut off Giannis Antetokounmpo after halftime
Antetokounmpo spent the first half attacking Golden State’s interior defense. The two-time MVP collected 16 points and 10 rebounds before halftime, making six of his nine field-goal attempts. His strength around the basket forced defenders to collapse, while his passing created opportunities for teammates. Golden State couldn’t afford another half of that punishment.
Green helped change the terms of the matchup. He fought for position inside, challenged Antetokounmpo’s routes toward the rim, and coordinated the help defenders behind him. The Warriors crowded driving lanes and made Miami work harder to create direct scoring chances.
Antetokounmpo managed just four second-half points, shooting 1-for-4 from the floor. He finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds, but Golden State denied him the sustained interior production that had fueled Miami’s early advantage. The assignment required more than Green playing tough individual defense.
Antetokounmpo could punish isolated defenders with one powerful step. Golden State needed teammates ready to close the space around him, then recover quickly enough to discourage uncontested passes to the perimeter. The Warriors found that balance after halftime. Miami still received 22 points and eight assists from Davion Mitchell. Adebayo contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. But those performances couldn’t replace Antetokounmpo’s missing interior pressure.
Meanwhile, Green directed Golden State’s offense with 11 assists. He spent one end of the floor making decisions like an offensive quarterback. Then he crossed half-court and wrestled with a 250-pound freight train. Green scored only two points. Few Warriors influenced the result more.
2. Golden State’s bench delivered 53 points and exposed Miami’s depth problem
Curry’s scoring drew the attention, but Golden State’s supporting cast made the 20-point finish possible. Yaxel Lendeborg supplied 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. The rookie attacked gaps, connected teammates with timely passes, and gave Golden State energy beyond its veteran core. Those contributions mattered when Curry struggled to find his shot.
The bench supplied an even larger advantage. Golden State’s reserves outscored Miami’s 53-27. Georges Niang contributed 13 points, Brandon Williams added 10, and Gary Payton II scored nine. Horford finished with eight points and five rebounds, making all three of his field-goal attempts. Bassey added eight points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in just 14 minutes.
The Warriors also punished the Heat in areas that demanded effort rather than exceptional shooting. Golden State scored 50 points in the paint to Miami’s 32. It controlled transition scoring 21-7 and converted Heat turnovers into 28 points. Miami committed 22 turnovers. Golden State repeatedly turned those mistakes into layups, open threes, and possessions that started before the defense could get comfortable.
The second unit helped preserve that pace. Niang offered reliable spacing. Payton attacked the basket. Bassey protected the rim and fought for rebounds, while Horford gave Kerr another passing and shooting option. Those minutes provided something Golden State had lacked too often during its veteran core’s later years: a way to survive without demanding that Curry fix every possession.
At 38, Curry remained the franchise’s most dangerous offensive player. Treating him like an inexhaustible power supply, however, would be terrible roster management. Golden State needed its reserves to create advantages, not merely protect the score until Curry returned. Against Miami, they did both.
1. Curry’s 22-point second half shifted the focus from Robertson to the next name
Curry entered halftime with seven points. He finished with 29. That transformation required more than a few lucky bounces. Curry read Miami’s coverage more quickly, found shooting windows after defensive switches, and punished the Heat when their attention drifted elsewhere. He made seven of nine second-half field-goal attempts, including five of seven from three-point range.
In the fourth quarter, Curry knocked down a three-pointer after moving around a screen. Another came from the corner after Golden State recovered an offensive rebound. Those were different shots with the same consequence: Miami couldn’t keep track of him for an entire possession.
By the final buzzer, Curry had made nine of 19 field-goal attempts and six of 12 three-pointers. He finished with 29 points and four assists without committing a turnover. Golden State won by 20, and Curry rested once the game moved beyond Miami’s reach. The record book kept changing, too.
His performance raised his career scoring total to 26,737 points, placing him 17th in NBA history. Denver Nuggets guard DeMar DeRozan occupied 16th with 26,775 points, just 38 ahead of Curry after Thursday’s game. Hakeem Olajuwon held 15th with 26,946.
Curry needed 39 more points to pass DeRozan’s Thursday total, although DeRozan’s active career meant the target would keep moving. To overtake Olajuwon’s mark, Curry needed another 210 points. Those distances looked manageable for a player who had scored at least 1,630 points in five of his previous six seasons.
Injuries limited him to 43 games and 1,142 points in 2025-26, but his current scoring pace kept more historical milestones within sight. Curry had already passed Wilkins and Robertson in less than a week. The next names brought fresh challenges, but Thursday’s victory offered something the scoring list couldn’t measure. Golden State didn’t need him to carry the entire night.
For years, Curry’s greatness had forced opponents to redesign their defenses. Now, at 38, his teammates finally showed enough depth to punish those defenses when his shots stopped falling. That’s how a team protects an aging superstar without asking him to play like an ordinary one.
The Warriors’ next challenge is winning without another rescue mission
Golden State left Chase Center with six consecutive victories and a 6-3 record. The Warriors also had the confidence of a team that had survived four straight double-digit deficits. But that second statistic should bother Kerr as much as the first one encouraged him.
Falling behind by 10 or more points in four consecutive games isn’t a sustainable strategy. Even talented teams eventually encounter opponents who don’t surrender comfortable leads. Golden State couldn’t expect another 25-point escape against the Lakers or another desperate finish against Phoenix every week.
The schedule offered an immediate chance to improve that habit. The Warriors were set to host the Orlando Magic on Saturday, November 7, with an opportunity to extend their winning streak to seven games. A cleaner opening quarter would matter more than another spectacular recovery.
Green’s passing gave Golden State structure when Curry struggled. Lendeborg’s versatility offered useful two-way minutes, while the bench supplied enough scoring to keep opponents from concentrating every defensive resource on one player. Still, nine games couldn’t erase every question about Golden State’s ceiling.
The Warriors needed to defend more consistently from the opening tip. Their younger players had to maintain their production, and Curry’s workload required attention across the long regular season. The clearest evidence of progress came through the team’s 36 assists against Miami.
Green made his teammates better without dominating the ball. Curry punished the Heat when its coverage finally cracked. Golden State’s reserves attacked the space Miami left behind. That version of the Warriors had substance.
Curry’s climb past Robertson deserved its place in the record book. Golden State’s sixth straight win delivered the more useful lesson. The milestone belonged to Curry. The 20-point victory belonged to everyone who kept the Warriors afloat when his jumper deserted him.
And for a franchise built around one extraordinary shooter, that might be the most encouraging development of all.
READ ALSO: Stephen Curry Greatest Games That Changed Basketball
FAQs
When did Stephen Curry pass Oscar Robertson on the NBA scoring list?
Curry passed Robertson on November 5, 2026, with a first-quarter three-pointer against Miami. The basket moved him into 17th place with 26,711 career points.
How many points did Stephen Curry score against the Miami Heat?
Curry scored 29 points, including 22 after halftime. He made six three-pointers as Golden State defeated Miami 120-100.
How many consecutive games had the Warriors won?
Golden State won six consecutive games after starting the 2026-27 season with three losses. The victory over Miami improved its record to 6-3.
How did Draymond Green contribute to the Warriors’ victory?
Green recorded 11 assists and helped contain Giannis Antetokounmpo after halftime. Miami’s star scored just four points in the second half.
Who was next ahead of Stephen Curry on the NBA’s all-time scoring list?
DeMar DeRozan held 16th place with 26,775 career points after the November 5 game. Curry trailed him by 38 points.
