Stephen Curry has returned the glory to the Golden State Warriors by leading them with 34 points and six three-pointers to a 103-90 win at the Boston Celtics, thus giving the Californian franchise its seventh NBA title and the fourth in the last eight years.
It had to be Curry, the man who changed the history of the Warriors, who put his signature on a new title for Steve Kerr’s team, this time in front of some boston celtics who saw the dream of conquering their eighteenth crown vanish. After the triumphs of 1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017 and 2018, the Warriors add a new Larry O’Brien trophy to their record and they do it at home and in one of the most glorious settings in basketball such as the TD Garden in Boston.
Curry, chosen Finals MVP for the first time in his careerled his team with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, supported by 18 points from Andrew Wiggins and a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds from Draymond Green. The Warriors ended up knocking down some Celtics in which Jayson Tatum did not exceed 13 points, three rebounds and seven assists. The 34 points of Jaylene Brown and the double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds from the Dominican Al Horford they were not enough for Ime Udoka’s team to force the seventh game of the series.
The Warriors, from 2-14 to 37-22
And that the meeting could not start better for the Celtics, with a 14-2 driven by the triples of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and with two early fouls by Klay Thompson, which forced Kerr’s timeout. Based on intense defense and good shooting percentages, the Celtics interpreted Udoka’s plan in the best way, but not for long. The Warriors knew how to manage the bad start, limiting the negative partial, and came out between the final stretch of the first period and the beginning of the second with a devastating 21-0 that radically changed the face of the game.
The signal was given Draymond Green, whose percentages in triples do not exceed 30%, when connecting the first three-point basket of the four consecutive of the Warriors. Curry, who had snapped a streak of four straight years scoring at least one 3-pointer per game three days ago, broke his brief drought, and Poole and Wiggins extended the quarter to a tough 37-22. It was a psychological blow that threw those from Boston off center, they fell back into their nightmare, the lost balls. They already accumulated thirteen at halftime, with a deficit that reached 21 points at 54-33 before, with Brown in charge, the Celtics cut it to fifteen to return to the locker room.
The Celtics’ turnover data and the Warriors’ excellent ensemble performance sent clear messages. Those from San Francisco already had four players above ten points in 24 minutes: Curry and Thompson added twelve, Poole eleven and Wiggins, 10. In addition, Green dominated in the paint with seven rebounds and already distributed five assists.
Curry speeds up, Horford responds
Green himself opened, in the third period, a authentic triple fest with which the Warriors again escaped to a 22-point lead at 72-50. Horford made three consecutive triples for the Celtics, but Porter Jr, with two, and Curry, with another two, the latter of which from long range, frustrated Udoka’s attempts, but it was not enough to bring down the competitive soul of the Greens.
In particular that of Horford, who with a masterful three-point play rewarded the desperate push of the Celtics and cut the margin to nine points (74-65). The Dominican, idol of the local fans, also sealed a tremendous shot and celebrated it by showing his muscles to a Garden that got back into the game completely. Ten points (76-66) was the lead to defend for the Warriors in the last period to emerge champions.
the sentence arrives
Kerr’s men managed to maintain their advantage, not allowing the Celtics to get closer, although Curry and Thompson repeatedly pardoned, from the perimeter, the blow that could be definitive. That forced them to struggle until the end, when Jaylen Brown put the Celtics within eight points. It was necessary to remain lucid and Draymond Green and Curry, with great insight, managed to curb the enthusiasm of the Garden, in which Horford was the last to surrender.
The sentence came three minutes from the end, when Curry, from a corner, connected the triple of 96-81, to reach 30 points. Celtics fans began to leave the stands. Curry’s game would end with 34 points, and the Warriors, pushed by their brightest star, returned to the Olympus of basketball.
