Exhaustion assuredly could have stood as an excuse, considering going double-overtime the previous night in a loss to the Sacramento Kings. Opposing excellence could have created a sense of doom, as Stephen Curry drained eight 3-pointers in a 31-point performance.

That joy Steph Curry plays with, that has made him one of the game’s most infectious superstars, has been absent lately, at least from his seat at the podium inside the Bill King Interview Room.