The obituaries were written. For Bob Myers. For Draymond Green. For the Warriors dynasty as we know it. Nine years, four championships with a 73-win season mixed in and this is where it would end: in Sacramento, against the upstart Kings, who rolled into San Francisco and blew out Golden State on Friday and would assuredly find a way to win again in front of 20,000 frothing fans at home Sunday
“Do these championship Warriors still have what it takes to win a Game 7 on the road?” asked ABC broadcaster Mike Breen.
Answer: They did.
Correction: Stephen Curry did. Golden State’s 120–100 win wasn’t a team-wide masterpiece. It was closer to a team-wide mess. Andrew Wiggins had 17 points … but needed 16 shots to get them. Klay Thompson had 16 … on 19 shots. Jordan Poole was bad offensively. Gary Payton II was worse. The Warriors shot 43% from the floor, 32.6% from the three and 63.3% from the free throw line. Golden State’s most efficient second option was Kevon Looney (11 points), who made his biggest impact on the glass (21 rebounds).
But … Curry. In an elimination game on the road, Curry submitted the greatest Game 7 scoring performance in NBA history. 50 points. He was 20-of-38 from the floor. He was 7-of-18 from three. He collected eight rebounds. He handed out six assists. He committed just one turnover. “This may be one of his greatest performances ever,” Jeff Van Gundy said. It was probably the best.
“He was elite,” said Mike Brown. “He put those guys on his back and said, We’re not losing tonight, and I’m going to make sure that happens.”
Said Steve Kerr, “You just have to remind yourself every once in a while, big picture, this is one of the greatest players in the history of the game.”
Officially, Game 7 was a 20-point blowout. But the Kings led by two at halftime. Poole had five points. Thompson was 1-of-10. Curry’s 20 points were all that was keeping the Warriors in it. In the third quarter, Golden State blew it open. Curry had 14 points. Thompson scored nine. Looney grabbed 10 boards. “He was unbelievable,” said Brown. Golden State collected 13 offensive rebounds in the third quarter alone.
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The defense turned up. Thompson struggled offensively, but was a game-high plus-30 due to his defense on Kevin Huerter (2-of-9) and De’Aaron Fox (5-of-19). Draymond Green was everywhere. Looney, too. “Our calling card has usually been our defense,” said Curry. After getting clobbered on the glass in Game 6, the Warriors won the battle (55–49) in Game 7. Sacramento had 11 points off turnovers in part because Golden State only committed seven of them.
“Tonight was the best game-plan discipline that we have had all year,” Kerr said. “And one of the great games that I can remember since I’ve been here in terms of being that locked in for 48 minutes.”
None more so than Curry. Curry’s list of accomplishments is lengthy. Nine-time All-Star. Four-time NBA champion. Two-time MVP. Still—this was special. Curry admitted there were some nerves going into Game 7. “Because it matters,” said Curry. But he knew how Sacramento was going to play. (“Mostly small [with] different rotations.”) On Saturday, the Warriors tinkered with the game plan. They focused on spacing. They went heavy on pick-and-roll. They established a more deliberate pace. “Keep the game as simple as possible,” said Curry. The 38 shots, Curry said, were a result of the holes he was seeing in the Kings’ defense.
For Curry, a little space is all he needs. “Once he got it going,” said Fox, “it was tough to slow him down.” After Game 6, Malik Monk noted how the Kings knew they could outrun the Warriors. “We’re younger than they are,” Monk said, correctly. Green brought up Monk’s comments after the game. Asked about them, Curry smiled.
“The competitive spirit is always in us,” Curry said. “We didn’t need sound bites to motivate us. But it did help to know that they thought they had something with the pace.”
The celebration, if there is one, will be quick. The Lakers come to town Tuesday for Game 1 of the conference semifinals. It renews a decades-old rivalry. And a fresher one between Golden State and LeBron James, who the Warriors battled over four straight Finals during this run—one Kerr said deserves enormous respect.
“To do this for a decade, it’s incredible,” Kerr said. “The energy that it takes to fight off challengers year after year and have to prepare and win big games and do it over and over again. There is a reason these guys are Hall of Famers and champions. This is not a one-year flash in the pan. This is a decade that they have done it. It’s incredible to watch.”
And it will be. For at least one more series.
