NBA basketball is not a one-on-one sport, but there often is an undercurrent of that dynamic within the game itself, such as when the players who finished 1-2 in the MVP voting are on opposing teams.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who won the award last season, confirmed yet again Friday night that voters got it right in choosing him over Houston’s James Harden.
Curry clearly outplayed Harden and, moreover, the Warriors clobbered the Rockets 112-92 at Toyota Center.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Curry’s line: 25 points (game high), seven rebounds (tying a team high), six assists and one turnover. He shot 9-of-15 (4-of-9 beyond the arc) and finished plus-12 for the game.
Harden’s line: 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists (tying a team high) and four turnovers. He shot 4-of-18 (1-of-10 from deep) and finished a game-worst minus-22.
[POOLE: Instant Replay: Curry's game-high paces Warriors over Rockets]
Curry, to his credit, didn’t gloat after the Warriors beat the Rockets for the ninth time in their last 10 games.
Golden State Warriors
“We just stick to the game plan,” Curry told reporters late Friday night.
“We know James is going to have a lot of touches, so you try to make it tough on him, make him take tough shots.”
Curry picked up 100 first-place votes in winning the official award in May. Harden rang up 25 first-place votes to finish second but edged Curry, reportedly by one vote, in balloting among the players.
Which may be why Harden has on several occasions, as recently as Oct. 6, stated that he was more deserving of the MVP award.
“Credit the Golden State Warriors for an unbelievable year,” Harden told Fran Blinebury of NBA.com last month. “They had an unbelievable team, coaching staff, everything.
"But that award means most valuable to your team. We finished second in the West, which nobody thought we were going to do at the beginning of the year even when everybody was healthy. We were near the top in having the most injuries. We won our division in a division where every single team made the playoffs.
“There's so many factors. I led the league in total points scored, minutes played. Like I said, I'm not taking anything away from Steph, but I felt I deserved the Most Valuable Player. That stays with me."
Insofar as Harden said this barely four months after committing an NBA-record 13 turnovers against Curry and the Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, it’s evident Harden doesn’t easily back down.
But after his performance Friday night, along with that of Curry, maybe Harden is edging a bit closer to a belated concession speech.