In one of the great finishes in pro basketball history, Curry set an NBA record by scoring 17 points in overtime, something never done in a regular-season or postseason game, as the Golden State Warriors rallied past the Portland Trail Blazers. He was needed for all of those after starting point guard Shaun Livingston got ejected earlier in the game.
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Curry sprained his right knee during Game 4 of the first-round series against the Rockets. But an 11-2 run late in the third gave Golden State their first lead of the game, though both teams would take turns snatching the lead away for the rest of the contest.
For a while, Curry’s performance was the soon-to-be-two-time-MVP summoning everything else he has, other than what has made him famous worldwide, and it was Curry dragging the Warriors back into this game. Golden State led 92-87 with nine minutes left, but McCollum knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, Aminu buried one from the corner, and suddenly Portland was back on top 96-95.
For Portland, Damian Lillard scored a team-high 36 points but shot just 9-of-30 from the field and 5-of-18 from three-point range.
The Blazers played a full game and went toe to toe against the defending champions until Stephen Curry took over the Moda Center in overtime.
Said Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts: “He’s a two-time MVP for a reason”.
Warriors: G Stephen Curry (R MCL sprain) was listed as questionable and declared available 90 minutes before tipoff. Curry and Lillard are different players, to be sure, but comparisons are unavoidable.
Draymond Green’s game (21 points, eight rebounds, seven blocks, five assists, and four steals) was ridiculous.
“It was a well-played game”, said Stotts. The Blazers put up an incredible fight and made the Warriors step up their game in order to avoid the 2-2 series tie. Green scored on a dunk to close the gap to 109-108, but Mason Plumlee’s layup pushed Portland in front 101-98 with 58.6 seconds left.Harrison Barnes evened the count at 101-101 on a 3-point shot with 51.7 seconds to go.Lillard missed a fadeaway jumper.
Curry made his second 3-pointer to pull the Warriors to within 107-106.
His biggest came when he blocked a shot, the ball got out to Curry, who then found an open Klay Thompson in the corner to give the Warriors the lead.
Without Livingston, Curry was forced to play most of the second half and once he got going he looked like the player that the league has struggled to slow down for most of two seasons.
With Livingston out, Curry started the second half.
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And Curry proceeded to miss three-pointers-his first 10 in a row if you were counting.
