Stephen Curry was honored with his second-consecutive league MVP award before leading Golden State to a 125-121 victory over Portland as the Warriors advanced to back-to-back conference finals.
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Curry sang Thompson’s praises after his fellow All-Star’s overall performance in the Warriors’ Game 5 win against Portland.
The Trail Blazers again matched Golden State shot for shot, block for block, 3-pointer for 3-pointer. Still the Warriors got the job done in Game 5 against a Trail Blazers team that didn’t go away until the very end.
Green, for his part, said on Twitter that it “sure didn’t feel like series was 5 games”.
The Thunder lead 3-2 and can knock out the Spurs on Thursday with a win in Oklahoma City although, if San Antonio are victorious, it will be decided with a game seven on Sunday on their home court. He finished with 33 points on 13 of 17 shooting and was 6 of 9 from beyond the arc. The Trail Blazers continued to push the Warriors to the limit physically and mentally, if not quite competitively.
Allen Crabbe, who played at California, scored 20 points for Portland. The Curry contingent at the game was wearing t-shirts that said “average size, limited upside, frail frame”.
There have been plenty of doubters in Curry’s life, going all the way back to his high school days when he wasn’t recruited heavily because of his size, so the crack at his value to his team probably doesn’t bother him all that much.
Curry started for the first time since Game 4 of the first round at Houston, the day he slipped on a wet spot and sprained his knee.
Under a preferential voting system, players receive 10 points for a first choice vote, seven points for each second place vote, five points for third, and three points for fourth and one point for fifth.
Curry is the 11th player in league history to be voted MVP in consecutive seasons and the first to do so since James did it in 2012 and 2013. “I’m able to do that only if I’m focused, and I thought in these play-offs I’ve been focused”. Last year, the adorable child won hearts everywhere when she burst into her father’s championship post-game press conferences, playing peek-a-boo with the curtains, as Curry tried to answer tough questions from the media. Defensively, he forced Damian Lillard into shooting 7-for-24.
During a brief interview with ESPN, LeBron made no argument about Curry winning the NBA’s 2016 Most Valuable Player trophy.
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“Every single game I try not to take for granted because you never know what could happen”. Curry then busted loose and nailed a 25-footer for the clutch basket that put Golden State up 121-116. “Let’s keep it going”. Curry made a 3-pointer in his 44th straight playoff games, tying Reggie Miller’s record set from 1995-2000…. Reserve center Festus Ezeli then hit four straight free throws, which proved to be an adventure.
