Steph Curry drops Luka Doncic and finds his joy

SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry dribbled through his legs and then jabbed hard to his left, sending Luka Doncic flying onto the ground.Curry stepped back, seemingly stunned that the closest defender to him was on his butt.

He swished a 3-pointer.Curry put both hands over his head.He shimmied his shoulders.

It was poetry.It was vintage Curry.

It was the embodiment of joy.“I didn’t expect it to get that nasty,” Curry said in his postgame interview with Amazon Prime Video after the Warriors’ 112-95 win over the Lakers.

“It was one of those [moments] you kind of got to keep your composure.I remember James Harden used to do the shimmy to get himself open back in the day.

I don’t know.I haven’t been that open in a long time.”Doncic was still on the ground as Curry elevated midway through the third quarter.

The league’s leading scorer was dropped by the greatest shooter of all time.Curry is still him.The Warriors have now won three games in a row, including turning a 25-point deficit into a 17-point lead on Friday.

They’re finding their groove.They’re fueled by Curry’s joy and a sprinkle of something new: his palpable acceptance that this isn’t going to last forever.He’s engaging the crowd.

He’s putting on a show.He’s savoring this.

“I just love this game,” Curry said.“All my mannerisms are all over the place because I’m just having fun.

In those moments, especially at this stage of your career, you’re just appreciative of the ability to keep playing at this level.And I want that joy to continue until I’m done.”We’re seeing glimmers of what Warriors basketball was at its peak.

It comes in spurts, such as in last season’s play-in win over the Clippers when Curry went into a flow state, scoring 35 points, and Draymond Green transformed into a full-blown defensive beast, holding Kawhi Leonard to two points in the fourth quarter.Curry breaking Doncic’s ankles was another example of that.It was a master at his craft ...