Stephen Curry steps up to save the Golden State Warriors’ season in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
So many times over the last eight years, especially in the NBA Finals, it was any guess who would be the star of the night for the Golden State Warriors. Sometimes it was Klay Thompson, at others it was Draymond Green or Andre Iguodala. However, this time, there was no guessing.
Heading into Game 4, it was clear what the Warriors needed – and how a win on the road would realistically look. It had to be Stephen Curry who, for the most part, had been one of the team’s most consistent stars in the last decade.
His brightness is the one that is shining the most right now. And to tie the NBA Finals at two games apiece, the Warriors were going to need his best performance yet – and that’s exactly what transpired Friday night.
Behind 43 points from Chef Curry, in which he shot an efficient 14-26 from the field, including 7-14 from deep, the Warriors pulled away from the Celtics late to win Game 4 and tie the series 2-2 as the Finals shifts back to the West Coast for Game 5.
Golden State needed every bit of Curry’s magic. With Draymond Green struggling mightily on the offensive end, the Warriors didn’t have much wiggle room. Klay Thompson added 18 and Andrew Wiggins 17, but both had to claw and scratch throughout the night for their points – the duo finished with a combined 35 points on 34 shots.
The NBA Finals is now effectively a best-of-three series. And with two out of the three possible games in the Bay Area, the Warriors should have a slight edge. Though, if Golden State is going to win the championship, they’re going to need more of what they saw from Curry in Game 4.
He needs to be the savior. He needs to be the leader. He may need to play every minute the rest of the way. The Warriors flat-out look lost on the offensive end when Curry is not in the game. That’s a problem, especially considering they’re playing what will likely end up being one of the historically best defenses.
When the Warriors needed it most, Curry stepped up and offered arguably his best NBA Finals single-game performance of all time.
Golden State may need two similar-type games if they want to win this series. The question is, does Curry have two more left in him? And can they come in the next three games?