Curry, Warriors speak up before it's too late.
OAKLAND — First Stephen Curry stripped Kevin Durant. That was impressive enough after Curry absorbed Durant's left shoulder into his chest while giving away six inches and 50 pounds. Then Curry controlled the ball near the free-throw line, raced the other way, put the brakes on the offense to run clock, passed to Andre Iguodala, quickly got a return throw and, with a favorable matchup against a bigger defender, went past Oklahoma City's Steven Adamsand down the line while dribbling with his left hand.
Curry switched to his right after the final dribble, as he closed in on the basket. He flipped the ball up from about his hip with heavy spin. The shot caromed off the glass with exactly the amount of English necessary, bounced around the rim three times, front then right then left, before falling through with 1:02 remaining in the fourth quarter Thursday night.
He turned upcourt as the Thunder called timeout to plot a last-ditch comeback that would not happen and shouted to no one in particular and to everyone.
"We ain't going home!"
Home for good, he meant, because the Warriors were already at Oracle Arena.
"That's great grammar, right?" a chagrined Curry said when asked later about the message he delivered. "My Davidson people would be very embarrassed."
Figure his college teachers will let it slide without retroactively changing any grades and that they're more delighted today at what he did than horrified at what he screamed. The statement was the point -- Curry dominating the moment that snuffed out the final OKC threat and the declaration from all the Warriors with the 120-111 victory that drew Golden State within 3-2 in the Western Conference finals.
Shout it, think it, skywrite it, let it flow from a pen in cursive. Whatever. All that mattered was that the Warriors spoke up before it was too late, just in time to save their hopes of a second consecutive title after losing two games in a row for the first time all 2015-16, after losing those two by 28 and 24 points at that, the actual reason to be very embarrassed, and after stretches earlier in the series of playing with the poise of an inexperienced playoff newcomer.
That made Thursday a unique experience for the defending champions. They had been in a lot of pressure situations in the last 12 months, only they had never been in a bad spot like this before, facing elimination. The worst it had been before were the 2-1 deficits to the Grizzlies in the 2015 second round and the Cavaliers in the Finals, but never in the great run from the playoffs a year ago to the best regular-season record in league history to the current postseason had the Warriors been so forced to confront the end.
