’Nonchalant’ does not even begin to describe Stephen Curry’s lob ball to Gary Payton II in Golden State’s 141-139 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.

The extremely contested battle was part of the NBA’s first in-season tournament, which may have added importance to the game. Instead of displaying tenacity, Curry effortlessly executed an easy alley-oop pass, the type of move that might land a player on the bench if it resulted in a turnover.

Instead, Curry’s one-handed, no-look lob from beyond the 3-point line surprised the whole Thunder frontcourt.

Oklahoma City’s 7-foot rookie Chet Holmgren was slow to react to Payton’s backdoor cut towards the basket. As a consequence, he had a front-row seat to see Payton glide to the basket, collect the ball with two hands at his chest, and put down an effortless reverse jam to extend the Warriors’ advantage to 50-44.

‘And Steph Curry’s theatrics – the no-look hook pass,’ one commentator remarked.  

The lob was one of seven assists on the night for Curry, a future Hall of Famer renowned more for his shooting than his passing. He also scored 30 points, including the game-winning basket at the buzzer.

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

‘Steph is an underestimated passer,’ said another.

One fan said that Curry is now a better point guard than Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers: ‘I believe we can all agree that curry has overtaken magic at this time.’

Curry’s game-winning layup was originally disallowed due to poor offensive goaltending. However, the ruling was reversed, and the Warriors won their second game in a row in the final seconds.

Klay Thompson scored with less than a second left in the game against Sacramento on Wednesday.

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

The Thunder got 29 points from Lu Dort, 24 from Chet Holmgren, and 14 points from Josh Giddey in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma City’s top scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, missed out with an injured left knee.

Golden State led 38-33 after hitting seven three-pointers in the first quarter. In the span, Saric scored 11 points as a reserve.

Golden State made six more 3-pointers in the second quarter to take a 69-67 edge into the intermission. Thompson’s leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer was ruled no good on the court, and that decision was upheld after review.

Dort scored 11 baskets in less than four minutes to give the Thunder an 85-80 lead in the third quarter.

The Warriors fought back, and the game was knotted at 106 entering the fourth quarter.

With 9:15 remaining, Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Joe scored a 3-pointer and was fouled. He hit the free throw to put the Thunder up 118-115, and the game stayed tight the rest of the way.