3:16 a.m. ET
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Kendra Andrews ESPN
BOSTON – Stephen Curry is not a person who shows a lot of emotions during the game. But in the 107-97 victory of the Golden State Warriors over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Curry wore his heart up his sleeve all night.
At the end of the first quarter, after scoring 3 back points, Curry ran to the opposite end of the field and started shouting at Boston fans – something he does maybe once or twice on the stretch after a big shot, but rarely from the start. .
“I felt like we just had to let everyone know we were here tonight,” Curry said. “Whether it’s their crowd, their team, our team that wants to see this energy and this fire, we feed on it.
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Curry finished with 43 points in 14 of 26 shots, including seven 3 points and added 10 rebounds and four assists. He became only the fifth guard in NBA history to have at least 40 points and 10 rebounds in a final game.
“Unbelievable,” said Draymond Green. “Put us on your back. She wished us victory. A much-needed victory. A game we should have had. He came out and showed why he was one of the best players to ever play this game, you know, and why, you know, this organization managed to bring him to such a great success. That’s absolutely amazing. “
Green said she knew Curry wouldn’t let the Warriors lose. Kerr called his game “stunning”. Clay Thompson ranked him as Curry’s №1 performance in the finals.
Curry did not rank his performances, but said he understood the importance of what he did on Friday night, especially given what was at stake. The result of Friday’s match would either reduce the Warriors 3-1 or tie the series in two games.
Curry made sure it was the last.
“It means everything, knowing the sense of urgency we had to have tonight to win the visit and save some life in the series, regain the advantage on the home court and try to create momentum in our own way,” he said. Curry.
Curry scored 33 points in the first three quarters, a trend that was constant in the first three games of the series. But his problem area was the fourth quarter, where he averaged just three points on 30 percent shooting from the field. He scored just six points in matches 1, 2 and 3 combined.
On Friday, he scored 10 in the last frame. He scored 24 points overall in the second half, equaling the most in his career in the second half of the final.
The fourth quarter is when the Warriors, as a team, put brackets on the Celtics. Golden State beat Boston 15-0 in the final and became the first team in 50 seasons to win a final game with at least 10 points in the rules after falling behind at some point in the last five minutes of the game.
“We helped each other, we played together, we played aggressively in defense and most importantly we just closed,” Wiggins said. “You know, not grabbing fights. No offensive fights. I didn’t get points for a second chance. So that was great.”
A little over a minute before the end of the game and three ahead of the Warriors, Green grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed 3-pointer by Thompson. He passed it back to Curry, but quickly regained the ball after the Celtics threw a double team to Curry. Green then passed the ball to Luni, who ended up scoring over Al Horford.
Kerr called it the biggest bucket of the evening. But it was Curry who brought them to the point where that shot could turn into a dagger.
“The things he does, we take for granted from time to time,” Thompson said. “But to get out there and put us on his back, I mean, we have to help him on Monday.”
Curry received a little help on Friday from Thompson, who scored 18 points and scored four 3 points; Andrew Wiggins, who has 17 points and 16 rebounds; and Jordan Poole, who added 14 points. Kevan Looney, who came down from the bench for the first time in this series, made 11 fights and finished with a plus-21 net rating.
But Curry beat the other Warriors 43-39. At 34, he is the oldest player to do so in the final match after 35-year-old Michael Jordan in match 6 against Jazz in 1998.
Green struggled again, leaving no significant fingerprints on the game until the rebound at the end of the fourth. Kerr even chose to remove Green from offensive possession in the last five minutes of the game.
As Thompson said, the Warriors know they have to help Curry. But they do not say they should do so by sharing the burden of responsibility for scoring points.
“When a man is on a roller this way, you just get out of his way,” Thompson said.
Green added: “You’re just trying to do what you can to help him break free, to get him to his seats, or to open up a little space for him to create and get to his seats. For us, we just have to keep filling where we can. You have a shot, take it … I think if everyone is strong on the offensive line and that means with cuts, that means clean with your passes, then you allow him to be in a position to do what he does. “
Green said he knew Curry would play with an extra level of fire in Game 4, saying he could only understand by watching Curry’s behavior in the days after their grim loss two days earlier.
Curry said he got into Game 4, knowing he wanted to take over. He knew how quickly the momentum of the finals could change, and if he could want his team to win in Boston, everything would be on their side.
“He would come out with that kind of fire,” Green said. “And he did, and we all managed to follow him.”
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