Steph reveals why he hit ‘night night’ celly so early in Warriors’ win

Steph reveals why he hit ‘night night’ celly so early in Warriors’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steph Curry typically saves his famous “night night” celebration for the closing moments of a Warriors win, but on rare instances it will make an early appearance.

Sunday was one of those occassions, as Golden State routed the Dallas Mavericks 126-102 at Chase Center on the same day longtime Warrior Andre Iguodala saw his No. 9 jersey retired by the franchise.

After hitting a 3-pointer to extend the Warriors’ lead over the Mavericks to 93-69 with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter, Curry broke out his signature celebration well before fans are accustomed to seeing it.

But it’s not the first time Curry’s night night celebration made a premature appearance, as the Warriors star previously flexed on the Boston Celtics with it during the third quarter of Golden State’s series-clinching Game 6 win in the 2022 NBA Finals.

“It’s not the first time I did that. I did that in the Finals,” Curry told reporters after Sunday’s win.

So what exactly prompted the early use against the Mavericks? According to Curry, it was directly related to a previous encounter with a player on the Mavericks.

“To whatever the question is, it’s just a moment I had with someone on the other side, longer story,” Curry said.

Could Curry possibly be alluding to Mavericks forward P.J. Washington mocking Curry’s celebration after Dallas’ win over the Warriors on Feb. 12?

Golden State has been surging as of late since acquiring Jimmy Butler via trade, and that recent run of form has sparked the confidence necessary for Curry to call curtains on a game with an entire quarter remaining.

“It’s a reflection of that for sure,” Curry said. “I think what we’re doing right now, everybody playing with confidence having fun, usually for me that’s when … you’re not like a front-running type team where when things are going great, but you have to manifest that with playing with joy, and then that feeds on itself. So, the confidence produces good play which allows you to have fun and then try and repeat that cycle as much as possible.

“The night night stuff is never really predictable, it’s just when I’m feeling it and you got to be good to do it.”

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