OAKLAND — With 50 seconds remaining, Kyrie Irving had just put the Cavaliers up 92-89 with a scintillating three-point shot right in Steph Curry’s grill. The Warriors were starting to panic, but they weren’t counting themselves out of it yet. After all, Curry was due and 50 seconds was a ton of time to make something happen. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
As Curry dribbled down the court, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green fired off a series of screens that switched Kevin Love onto Curry. It was a favorable matchup Golden State thought their MVP could win. But in the games most critical possession, Curry’s weaknesses bled through.
With Love pushing him further and further away from the three-point line, Curry dribbled around, trying to create space for himself, and did his patented step back to the left — but Love was prepared for that move and slid right into place. Puzzled, Curry lobbed a pass to Green, willing to try anything to get a rhythm shot up. Green passed back, more dribbling ensued at the top of the key, and Curry fired up a desperation shot that clanked off the rim. LeBron corralled the rebound and the Warriors lost the championship.
“I was searching for a three and rushed and didn’t take what was there, which was probably better to go around him and try to get into the paint,” Curry said. “That’s basically it.”
It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Too many times before, Curry had bailed out the Warriors, hitting some ridiculous off-balance three-pointer. He came up big in previous close out series moments against Portland and Oklahoma City — scoring 29 and 36 respectively in those contests. The home crowd at Oracle Arena had always given him the confidence he needed to sink a shot. Curry freelancing off the dribble was Golden State’s go-to play all year.
Chalk it up to him being physically worn out, or overwhelmed mentally because of the circumstances. Whatever the case is, Curry scored just 17 points and finally looked human in the NBA Finals. The loss and particularly Curry’s collapse has left the Bay Area bewildered.
“We’re stunned. We thought we were going to win,” a somber Steve Kerr said. “I was extremely confident coming into tonight, especially having Draymond back from the suspension from 5 and now 7, Game 7, at home.
“But this is why you can’t mess around. Not that we messed around, but this is why every game counts. Game 5 was really the key. That was the turning point of the whole series. We didn’t play well enough to win. It was a tough game for us with the circumstances, and I thought they had two guys who played epic games, Kyrie and LeBron. And that changed the whole series.”
And how about Love? Once considered the odd man out in Cleveland because of his soft defense, the power forward shut down Curry of all people with the championship on the line. Love’s role might be much less than we all pictured when he was first traded from Minnesota two summers ago, but in the end, the 27-year-old had the last laugh.
“You talk about vindication, this is the main reason that I came here and wanted to come here because I knew we’d have a great shot to win a title,” Love said. “Last year I felt like it was taken away from me, especially with the injury. This year got to have my first real playoff run, and it ended the way I wanted it to and we all wanted it to.”
As for Curry?
“It will haunt me for a while because it means a lot to me to try to lead my team and do what I need to do on the court and big stages,” he said. “Done it before. Didn’t do it tonight. It will be good down the stretch or next year coming back and kind of remembering this feeling and being an even better player.”
The Warriors can only hope and pray they get another crack.
