Via Charlotte Wilder
FOX Sports Columnist
BOSTON – If Stephen the curryTheir eyes are lasers, they will burn holes through TD Garden’s Jumbotron during the third quarter of Game 4 afterward NBA Final match.
The star of Golden State stared at the giant screen playing in front of him Celtics great in attendance. When Eddie House threw a fist and flaunted his 2008 championship ring, upsetting the already boisterous Boston crowd, Curry turned his face away.
In that moment, his expression subtly changed.
I trained him with binoculars from a press box high on the floor, and it was like watching the final scene of an action movie, where the superhero has to tap into some extra energy – an arsenal of abilities. untapped energy and determination deep within their souls – to defeat the enemy.
Which Curry did. Dexterity.
He won 43 points, the second most ever in a Finals (he scored 47 points vs. Toronto Game 6 is required in 2019) and 10 bounces are Combatant tied the series 2-2 with a Win 107-97.
“It was largely due to how hostile the environment was, the fans chanted, doing all their crap and all that,” Curry said after the game. “[And] Boston knows how important it is to them – if they get the win, they can control the whole series. So all of that mixes into the experience of knowing how dynamics change in the Finals. “
Celtics fans should have been worried starting the first quarter Friday, when Curry established his dominance on the field and turned to roar at the crowd. TD Garden is louder than I’ve ever heard, driven by Klay ThompsonTheir comments about it not being “luxurious” after Game 3, and Curry seemed to thrive on that.
“Steph obviously doesn’t show much emotion, but a night like tonight warranted it,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said afterward.
Not only did Curry rescue the Warriors (they couldn’t have won without him), but he also did so after injuring his foot in Game 3. Kerr joked that it wasn’t the injury that made it possible. looks like Curry is “really struggling out there”. Curry said he doesn’t find himself liking the foot at all and it doesn’t take up too much brain space when he’s competing.
Game 4 was arguably Curry’s best Finals performance of all time. His sensational brother certainly seems to think so.
“I think it’s probably number one,” Thompson said when asked what the game ranks for Curry. “I mean, it’s almost a must-win game, and go out there, shoot as efficiently as he did and win 10 rebounds, and they’re attacking him defensively. Italy I am, his condition is second to none in this tournament. Steph played unbelievable.”
Curry certainly got his side back on track, setting the tone early as he picked up 19 points late in the first half. Obviously this is not the Warriors team of Game 3who let the Celtics go 68-56 in the first half, then regained the lead only to blow it and lose 116-100.
No, this is the Warriors team that won three championships with Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green like anchors.
And Thompson had 18 on Friday. But this is also ‘s group Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Kevon Looney. Wiggins racked up a career-high 16 rebounds and scored 17 points in Game 4. 22-year-old Poole scored 14, and when Looney was on the ring, the Warriors edged the Celtics by 21.
Green wasn’t really effective in Game 4, although his teammates said he brought the fire and intensity he has provided season after year to the defence. He finished with nine rebounds and eight assists.
“Unbelievable,” Green said of Curry. “Put us on his back. We’re ready to win. We need to win. The match we have to have. Come out and show why he’s one of the best players to have ever played the game. this play, you know, and why, you know, this organization has been able to lead him to so much success. It’s absolutely unbelievable.”
While Curry may have taken the team to the top of the hill, the Warriors ultimately issued a win-win claim together.
“It feels like we have to let everyone know that we’re here tonight,” Curry said.
“Whether it was their crowd, our team, their team, whoever wanted to see that energy, that fire – we nurtured that. And I think that helped us get along. because obviously, in our experience, you probably want it so badly that you should do it your own way a little bit. And everyone feels a little bit of pressure. could go in the opposite direction.”
If Curry and the Warriors keep that flame, continue to find ways to show off and stop Boston’s stifling defence, the Celtics will have a hard time. Their biggest test of the season was coming in Game 5. The Celtics had to dig deep the way Curry did, to make sure they didn’t lose against a Warriors team that played, in Game 4, a version of the game. better than Boston’s. game.
Because Golden State has done what Boston is usually very good at and what on Friday Boston failed to do. Led by Curry, it ends the game playing as a true unit.
Throughout these playoffs, Boston has been successful thanks to the cohesion of the whole team. With a young core Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Smart Marcusit runs over Nets and superstar Kevin Durant in a clean sweep.
Then the Celtics beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shove in a series of seven grueling, physically demanding games. Milwaukee can’t stand the nonstop of Boston without Kris Middleton on the field.
Can not Miami. The Heat, the East’s No. 1 seed, melted under Boston’s harsh physicality, which is why we found ourselves here, watching the most experienced Finalist team in the league go head-to-head with a series of the first times.
And now the Celtics face the final giant in Curry, who will no doubt remind them of it in Game 4.
Acting like you’ve been there before is often worth a lot, but sometimes having those actions is even more important. The Celtics crashed on Friday, making 16 spins and seemingly forgetting how to shoot a basketball. The team look hauntingly like their own version of January, having a record of 23-24 while Tatum missed 18 seconds in a row over the course of four games.
However, it’s important to remember that both of these teams have played erratically in these playoffs. Remember when the Warriors lost Memphis equal to 39 points?
The Celtics are 7-0 when they lose, which they will when they get to San Francisco. Game 5 is anyone’s game, and it will be the deciding game.
“We have to play with the same force in the fourth quarter that we did, bringing in that Monday,” Thompson said.
This is a series of matches between two teams. But game 4 was Steph Curry’s game. He is one of those people who are built differently. Who has been put on this earth to do something particularly great, so transcendent that it makes all who follow them feel privileged to do it.
Friday night is the basketball equivalent of watching a man lift a car away from a family with his bare hands. It – as Kerr said – is awesome. And sublime.
Perhaps Wiggins puts it the best.
“All you can do is watch,” he said. “Sometimes Steph has the ball, you just have to watch and see what he does.”
Charlotte Wilder is the general columnist and presenter of “People’s Sports Podcast“for FOX Sports. She’s honored to represent the Boston area so often overlooked in the sports media, enjoys talking to sports fans about their feelings, and is happiest when eating. hotdogs in the ballpark or nachos in the stadium.Follow her on Twitter @TheWilderThings.
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