Celtics-Warriors.
Nah. This was Ali-Liston. Bowe-Holyfield. Fury-Wilder.
This wasn’t basketball. This was heavyweight boxing, minus the bloodshed.
Golden State 107, Boston 97.
Game 5, here we come.
This was Stephen Curry blasting back at the critics. This week Tracy McGrady became the latest to question Curry’s greatness. Speaking to NBC Sports Washington, McGrady, the recently inducted Hall of Famer, noted that Curry beat an injury-riddled Cavaliers team to win his first ring in 2015 and needed a Kevin Durant infusion to collect two more. “Steph wasn’t the best player on that team,” McGrady said.
He’s the best player on this one. Down 2–1, against a generational defense, a hostile crowd and with lingering pain from a foot injury—the same foot injury that cost Curry the final 12 games of the regular season—suffered in Game 3, Curry submitted arguably his finest playoff performance. He scored 43 points and collected 10 rebounds, becoming just the fifth guard to notch 40/10 in the Finals. He handed out four assists. He made 14 of his 21 shots, seven of his 14 threes and eight of his nine free throws. He scored more than Golden State’s other starters combined. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter when the Warriors, down five with 7 1/2 minutes to play, pulled away for a 10-point win.
“Stunning,” said Steve Kerr.
Said Draymond Green, “He wasn’t going to let us lose.”