"You're not supposed to do anything. You can't" - Alvin Gentry on what he told Pelicans guard during Stephen Curry's 53-point night

“You’re not supposed to do anything. You can’t” – Alvin Gentry on what he told Pelicans guard during Stephen Curry’s 53-point night originally appeared on Basketball Network.

There are only a handful of players in NBA history who were so good at putting the ball in the basket that all defenders could do was shrug and trot back down the court.

At the top of that list is Michael Jordan, who made a career out of frustrating opposing defenses with his incredible shotmaking ability. Another player was Kobe Bryant — the player closest to replicating Jordan’s style of play — who could hit the most difficult shots with ease, leaving defenders grasping at air.

In this generation, one of the rare players who has entered this exclusive club is Stephen Curry. Former New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry witnessed it firsthand when the Golden State Warriors superstar exploded for 53 points against them in late 2015

Curry haunted the Pelicans

A few months after leading the Warriors to the 2015 NBA title, Curry entered the 2015-16 season full of confidence. The first team to get a taste of that were the Pelicans, who the superstar point guard destroyed with 40 points — 24 in the first quarter — during the season-opening 111-95 win.

Four days later, the two teams squared off again, only this time it was at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Eager to atone for their earlier loss, the Pelicans went toe-to-toe with the Warriors in the first half and held a 65-64 lead at halftime.

Then, the third quarter started and the whole game got flipped on its head.

Curry alone outscored the Pelicans, 28-26. It was a scintillating display of shooting accuracy as he cooked any defender placed in front of him, going 10-for-13 from the field during that stretch and making five 3-pointers.

One defender Gentry tried out on Curry was Toney Douglas, a 6’2″ career backup guard who played well that night and scored 17 points off the bench.

“He’s doing a great job, not a good job, a great job,” Gentry recalled.

However, during that game, “great” defense was not enough to put a dent in Steph’s confidence. The Warriors superstar sank three straight triples over Douglas, leaving the latter so dumbfounded that all he could do was look at Gentry and ask for answers.

Nothing anyone could do at that point

While some coaches might offer an encouraging word or two to keep their players motivated, Gentry knew that there was no point sugarcoating it: Curry was in human torch mode and the best they could do was weather the storm.

“You’re not supposed to do anything,” Gentry bluntly told his point guard. “You can’t. Just roll with it, OK?”

The Pelicans tried as hard as they could to “roll” with the punches, but Curry’s haymakers proved too powerful. He shot 17-for-27 from the field, drained eight shots from deep, dished out nine dimes and had four steals for good measure.

But this was far from a one-off night.

Curry left many defenders exasperated that season. He would go on to lead the league in scoring (30.1 points on 50.4 percent shooting) and steals (2.1) and become the first unanimous MVP in NBA history.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.

“You’re not supposed to do anything. You can’t” – Alvin Gentry on what he told Pelicans guard during Stephen Curry’s 53-point night

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