Some games feel like reruns of greatness, the kind that remind you why you started watching them in the first place. Stephen Curry, at 37, still carries that quality. Against the Clippers, that glow returned. The Warriors finally broke through, beating the James Harden-led squad 98–79 in a win that felt more emotional than technical. Curry admitted as much when asked about those long-standing battles.

“I mean there’s nostalgia for sure, but there’s still a mutual respect and admiration for… you know, just the fact that we’re still out there doing it. And I think right before jump ball, I didn’t get to talk to him one-on-one, but I pointed at him like you normally do at the jump ball circle,” the baby-faced assassin said. 

He continued, “And I kind of mouthed, like, ‘we’re still doing this,’ which is kind of—there are certain guys around the league that fit that category, especially me and him, Jrue, DeMar, and my draft class. So pretty special.” And well, pretty special, indeed. Golden State finally broke its streak against Harden’s Clippers, a drought that stretched back to November 2023.

And the way they did it? Pure Warriors basketball with defense setting the tone and ball movement dictating pace. The Clippers, to their credit, came in looking fresh and ready, too. Harden even found time to catch a six-hour World Series game before tip-off. Yet, it was the Golden State that played like a team with something to prove.

The Dubs outshot LA from deep 17 to 6, keeping Kawhi Leonard and Harden guessing all night. Curry might’ve struggled from three (2-for-8), but he scored a game-high 8 assists, finding Jimmy Butler, who dropped 21 points and reached the 16,000-point career milestone. When asked about the defensive turnaround that defined the third quarter, Curry broke it down the way only a seasoned vet could.

How Stephen Curry is balancing nostalgia and now

“It was trying to keep bodies on bodies, you know. LA is—I mean the Clippers are tough. If you’re letting Kawhi and James get downhill, Zubac on the rim… we just try to make it tough and send bodies to them. You know, make them play in a crowd. And, you know, that helped us—especially offensively, turned tough possessions into transition and made them run the other way. So we played into our hands,” Curry said. 

Even with a roster fixed around veterans like Butler, Draymond Green, and Jonathan Kuminga stepping into bigger roles, Curry remains the ultimate golden boy. The team’s offensive rating of 119.2 this season still lives among the league’s elite, and the on-court chemistry has shades of those dynasty years.

And yes, it’s easy to forget that both these men, Curry and Harden, were once seen as the future. Now, they’re living examples of consistency. Harden himself said it last year after beating the Golden State Warriors.

“It happened fast. Just the prime of that Rockets situation going up against that dynasty was real… I had to really go up against a real dynasty. It’s special. I’m overly excited and proud of what [Curry has] accomplished in his career. It’s one of those things and stories we can talk about when we get older and retire.”

Retirement still feels like a foreign word when Curry’s running into screens and smiling midway. But these games with Harden now carry a gravity. A reminder that while the rest of the league turns over with new stars and new narratives, some rivalries don’t fade, but just age like fine wine. For now, Curry and the Warriors are 4-1, looking more united than they have in months.

Harden’s Clippers will get another shot soon enough, and fans know neither of these two needs much time to make a statement. Maybe that’s what Curry meant by “we’re still doing this.” Not just playing basketball, but redefining longevity in a league that rarely allows it.