By Bill Oram / The Orange County Register
OAKLAND—Steph Curry’s final shot arced through the air, the orange sphere cutting across a backdrop of marigold T-shirts.
The two-time National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) watched intently, waiting for the shot to drop safely through the net. And when it did, he celebrated, biting a big mouthful of his jersey, chest bumping teammates and staring intently into a crowd that screamed praise back at him.
Then, he grinned.
It was not the shot that sent the Golden State Warriors to their second consecutive NBA Finals. But it was the exclamation point on a game and a series and a season, a 73-win legacy, that had hung in the balance before Curry took over in Game Seven of the Western Conference finals on Monday night in front of 19,596 at Oracle Arena.
“It was just a very cool moment to enjoy that fan noise,” Curry said, “and understand we were on the brink of doing something very special.”
The defending champions rode Curry’s 36 points to a 96-88 Game Seven victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, setting up a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Game One is on Thursday night in Oakland.
“Now we’re four wins away from our goal,” Curry said, “and that’s a pretty special accomplishment.”
Curry’s celebration was part euphoria and relief. Never since making the leap from All-Star to superstar had he been questioned as much as he has in this postseason, slowed by injuries, his defense laughed at by rival point guard Russell Westbrook.
“The one thing with Steph,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said, “is he understands that with all these accolades, MVPs, commercials. With all that comes great responsibility to his team, to the organization, the fans. He gets that.
“He understands that, if you play poorly, you’re going to get blamed if you’re the star.”
Curry made 13-of-24 shots, including seven three-pointers. Five of those were in the second half, including the final one with 26.8 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a 10-point lead.
“This is who he is,” Kerr said, “having a clutch performance in a Game Seven. That’s Steph Curry.”
Golden State survived relentless—and at times dominating—opposition from the Thunder to win a third straight game and complete an unlikely climb out of a 3-1 series hole. After getting blown out in Games Three and Four in Oklahoma City, the Warriors won three straight. A loss in one, and their record-setting season would have been over.
They became just the 10th team (out of 233) to win a seven-game series after losing three of the first four games, and only four have done it in a conference final. Before Monday, teams down 3-1 in conference finals had gone on to lose the series 25 consecutive times since the Boston Celtics last did it, against the Philadelphia 76ers—35 years ago.
“No one ever had any doubt that we could get this done,” All-Star forward Draymond Green said.
Oklahoma City spiraled into the off-season, victims of a historic comeback. Kevin Durant, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, scored 27 points in what could have been his final game with the Thunder. Fellow All-Star Westbrook added 19 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds.
However, the Thunder shot just 38.2 from the field, and made only seven-of-27 three-point attempts (25.9 percent).
While the Thunder might have been the more consistently dominant team in the series (especially rebounding), the Warriors were regularly bailed out by sustained periods of magic from Curry and Thompson.
Curry’s 15 points in 118 seconds in Game Two.
Thompson’s NBA playoff record 11 three-pointers in Game Six.
On Monday with the minutes ticking away in the game and their season, the Warriors used a thrilling third quarter to reclaim the lead after trailing by as many as 13 points in the second quarter.
As part of a bigger 29-8 run, the Warriors outscored the Thunder, 15-4, making five three-pointers in just under two minutes.
Then a group of Warriors reserves led by Shaun Livingston scored 12 straight to bump a one-point lead to 13.
The Warriors did not relinquish the lead, although there was one testy moment in the final minutes, when Durant scored seven straight points to cut the Warriors’ lead to 90-86 with 1:40 left.
But Curry was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws. Then, with 26.8 seconds left, he drained the shot that sent him, and Oracle Arena, into a frenzy.
The Warriors first-half deficit likely would have been far worse if not for Thompson, who missed his first seven shots before draining four three-pointers in four minutes.
Thompson’s record-setting Game Six performance had propelled the Warriors to a 108-101 win in Oklahoma City that extended this already captivating best-of-seven series and brought it back to Oakland.
“What Klay did that night,” Kerr said, “basically putting us on his shoulders and allowing us to have this opportunity tonight at home.
“It’s a pretty remarkable comeback, and it shows, I think, a lot about our guys and their will and their grit.”
Image credits: AP