There were plenty of storylines going into Monday night's Warriors vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game.
The Warriors were coming off two straight losses, Andrew Wiggins was facing his former team, and Kevon Looney was inserted into the starting lineup. The 2020 NBA Draft had to be at the front of everyone's minds, too.
For the first time this season, the top two picks in the draft -- Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman -- were set to square off. For Edwards, it also was the first time the 19-year-old got to go up against two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry. It's safe to say Curry didn't disappoint.
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"I've been watching him on TV for a minute and it ain't fake," Edwards said after the Warriors' 130-108 win. "It ain't fake news, it's real. He'll just take on, dribble and pull up from deep and shoot like it's nothing. I was watching him warm up and was like, 'That's crazy.' "
Curry finished Golden State's win with a game-high 36 points. He nailed seven 3-pointers, and also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals. The big difference was just how great Curry was down the stretch.
With the Warriors up by just eight points, Curry entered the fourth quarter with 6:45 left in the game. He then scored 15 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter. The Warriors wound up winning by 22.
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"Steph Curry," Edwards said when asked why the T-Wolves couldn't get over the hump in their loss. "I mean ... s--t, he came in and scored like 12 points straight by himself. That was the difference.
"We brought it down, came back and fought back, and then he just like extended the game, made it even harder."
It's a tough lesson to learn for a rookie like Edwards, who finished with 15 points but was a minus-10 in plus-minus. When Steph enters the game, everything changes. It's a lesson countless players have learned, and many more will learn in the future the first time they share the court with Curry.