Curry’s crazy dagger takes Warriors past Blazers, into West finals
Stephen Curry’s return from injury in Monday night’s thrilling Western Conference Semifinals Game 4 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers was always going to be tough to top. After three quarters of decent but largely inhibited play, the Golden State Warriors superstar exploded in crunch time to set a new NBA record with 17 overtime points. His Game 5 encore was going to be appointment viewing regardless — especially coming on the night he accepted his second-straight (and first-ever unanimous) MVP trophy — but it would have been a little much to expect it to measure up to the preceding contest.
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In general terms, Curry was not quite as incredible as he was on Monday in Portland. But he still pulled off the most dramatic moment of a thrilling Game 5 victory at Oracle Arena. With the Warriors up 118-116 with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Curry faced off against Al-Farouq Aminu at the top of the key and pulled off one of his signature pull-up three-pointers for the series-ending dagger:
In truth, the game and series did not end right that moment. Curry nailed two free throws after a quick Allen Crabbe two on the next possession, but Blazers star Damian Lillard then coaxed Klay Thompson into fouling on a three-point attempt and made all of them. Yet the Warriors were able to get the ball to Curry on the ensuing inbound, and he made the final two of his seven points in the last 24 seconds to finish the scoring in a hard-fought 125-121 win.
Curry finished the night with an efficient 29 points (10-of-20 FG, 5-of-11 3FG, 4-of-4 FT), 11 assists, and five rebounds. Yet he arguably didn’t look like his MVP self until the fourth quarter, when he scored 14 of Golden State’s 32 points. As in Game 4, Curry looked somewhat inhibited early on, opting to set up teammates and avoid his patented perimeter dribble-moves. It’s not apparent that he was restricted by discomfort in his right knee, but the player who dominated looked to be playing at full capabilities. While the Warriors have some issues to work on and more injuries to consider heading into the conference finals, they can at least proceed with confidence that their best player is in good enough healthy to perform on the sport’s biggest stage.
That next series will now come against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, who play Game 6 of their conference semifinal Thursday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena with the Thunder up 3-2. Both teams rank among the league’s elite, and it’s fair to say that the Warriors will have to up their own form to avoid a prolonged series. For now, though, they have defeated a capable and fearless underdog that gave them all they could handle.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
