On the same night Steph Curry became the first player in NBA history to hit 100 3-pointers in The Finals, he notched another career first.
Curry scored 34 points in the Warriors' 118-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He led all scorers at Scotiabank Arena, scoring at least 30 points for his sixth consecutive game.
Curry needed 14 free throws to get there on a night he shot 44.4 percent from the field, but that's the longest such streak of his career in the regular season and the NBA playoffs. He also is the first Warrior to do so since Rick Barry in 1974. When just looking at the postseason alone, Curry is on the 15th-longest such streak in NBA history.
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Barry had 17 consecutive playoff games of 30-plus points across multiple postseasons, and Elgin Baylor had 11 straight games in a single playoff run in 1962. The former is out of reach this postseason and the second probably is as well, but LeBron James' streak of eight straight 30-point games from the 2017 postseason should be in Curry's sights.
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The Warriors might need him to match or surpass James' mark, considering the questions surrounding Kevin Durant's health. Durant, who had a streak of scoring 30-plus points in five consecutive games himself earlier this postseason, has not played since straining his right calf in the Warriors' second-round series with the Houston Rockets. Thursday marked the Warriors' first loss since Durant's injury, and they missed his scoring ability as only three Warriors (Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green) scored at least 10 points.
The Golden State players not named Curry, Thompson or Green only made 16 field goals Thursday night. The Warriors still need others to step up in Durant's absence, but Curry keeping his career-best streak alive should provide Golden State a strong foundation to avoid falling into a two-games-to-none hole in the best-of-seven series in Game 2 on Sunday night.