Curry, Warriors outlast Thunder, will play at least 1 more game
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s stunning blowout wins in Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Finals inspired a number of questions about the record-setting Golden State Warriors. Was unanimous MVP Stephen Curry too hurt to make a big impact? Did their 73-win regular season obscure problems against more athletic, taller teams? And would Monday’s Game 5 at Oracle Arena serve as the extremely disappointing final chapter to a season that until recently looked set to become one of the greatest in NBA history?
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The Warriors are still down in this series and face a tremendous challenge to advance to the NBA Finals, but Game 5 at least proved that they’re not going to go out without a serious fight. The result of this very intense, high-level contest hanged in the balance for virtually the entire way, but Golden State persevered through another tremendous defensive effort from Oklahoma City to come away with a well-earned 120-111 win. The Thunder will take enough positives from the loss to remain confident in their ability to close out the series at home in Saturday’s Game 6, but the Warriors have fresh life in a matchup that had looked to have escaped them.
The game-sealing play doubled as an act of catharsis for the back-to-back MVP. Up 109-101 after two Curry free throws with 1:36 remaining in regulation, Curry stripped Kevin Durant, escaped several defenders to advance the ball, and eventually took center Steven Adams off the dribble for a highlight lay-up. To top it off, Curry yelled “We ain’t goin’ home!” several times in triumph. Take a look:
The celebration proved a little premature — the Thunder managed to cut the margin to just six points at the 0:40 mark before giving way to the Warriors win. Regardless, Curry’s big moment saw the Warriors and their superstar play with freedom and confidence that they had sorely lacked in the two games at Chesapeake Energy Arena. As Curry said in his post-game press conference, the team had played tense on the road and suffered for it. Thursday’s performance served as a return to form and perhaps will serve as a starting point for a much stronger effort in OKC on Saturday.
Curry’s overall performance in Game 5 provides several examples. Although he was far from his most efficient in shooting 9-of-20 from the field and 3-of-8 from long range, Curry got to the line 10 times (making all of them) and worked hard to get shots against the Thunder’s stifling defense. This was not the kind of breezy Warriors win NBA fans saw throughout the regular season — Golden State had to stay calm against consistent pressure, make smart decisions, and at some point just make tough shots against a defense that has tested this group like none other in the past two seasons. Curry’s 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and five steals indicated that, knee injury or not, he’s still plenty capable of doing enough to win an ultra-competitive playoff game.
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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!
