The 7-foot rookie point guard for Oklahoma City, Chet Holmgren, was slow to react to the ball and missed Payton’s backdoor cut towards the hoop. Thus, he was able to watch from the front row as Payton glided to the hoop, caught the ball with both hands at his chest, and effortlessly converted a reverse jam to increase the Warriors’ advantage to 50-44.

“And Steph Curry’s showmanship—the no-look hook pass,” an announcer remarked.  The phrase “nonchalant” does not even begin to capture the lob pass that Stephen Curry made to Gary Payton II in Golden State’s thrilling victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, 141-139.

The fact that the fiercely contested game was a part of the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament may have added significance to it. But rather than play with unwavering professionalism, Curry executed a careless alley-oop pass, the kind of move that, in the unlikely event that it led to a turnover, could land a player on the bench.

The Thunder frontcourt was taken off guard by Curry’s one-handed, no-look lob from beyond the 3-point arc.

Curry, a player who is likely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame mostly for his shooting ability, had seven assists that evening, including the lob. In addition, he scored a game-high thirty points, which included the game-winning layup at the buzzer.

In response to the highlight, one fan remarked on X, “Greatest point guard of all time.”

“Steph is a superb passer,” said one other person.

Curry, according to one fan, has surpassed Magic Johnson, the former point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers: “I think we can all agree that at this point, curry has surpassed magic.”

At first, Curry’s game-winning layup was disregarded due to offensive goaltending. But the call was reversed, and the Warriors won by a single point for the second time in a row.

Less than a second remained on Wednesday for Klay Thompson to secure a victory over Sacramento.

Golden State increased to 5-1 behind 20 points from Dario Saric and 13 assists from Chris Paul.

For the Thunder, Josh Giddey scored 14 of 18 points in the fourth quarter, Lu Dort scored 29, and Chet Holmgren scored 24.

Oklahoma City’s top scorer of the year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, missed the game due to an injured left knee.

Golden State led 38-33 after making seven 3-pointers in the first quarter. As a substitute, Saric scored 11 points during that time.

Golden State led 69-67 at the half after making six more 3-pointers in the second quarter. After a review, the decision to designate Thompson’s slanting 3-pointer at the buzzer as no good on the court stood.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Dort scored 11 points in less than four minutes, giving the Thunder an 85-80 advantage.

By the end of the third quarter, the score was knotted at 106 thanks to a comeback by the Warriors.

With 9:15 remaining, Isaiah Joe of Oklahoma City made a 3-pointer and was fouled. The Thunder led 118-115 after he made the free throw, and the score stayed close for the remainder of the game.