Oakland, CA - The original plan was to play him only twenty-five minutes. But how do you impeded the two-time MVP? What we saw last night was pure unfiltered greatness. Stephen Curry not only lifted his Warriors to win Game 4. He also flew back home to Oakland to receive NBA's most coveted award for the second straight season.
Curry returned to action last night and scored 17 points in overtime setting an NBA-record. He finished with 40-points to lead his team to victory for a possible close-out game on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena. Over the last three years, Curry has improved as a player. What he's done on the court has just been jaw dropping.
"My confidence never wavered," Curry said after last night's win. "I don't think you shoot nine shots from 3-point range without making one of them if you don't have confidence."
Being out two weeks from a right knee sprain, Curry had to watch the Trail Blazers embarrass Golden State in Game 3 with a 120-108 victory. The Warriors didn't hit the panic button after that loss, but decided to bring in Curry off the bench the next game if he was ready to go. Curry was given the green light and came off the bench. He wasn't the player we're used to seeing but that changed late in the fourth.
Damon Lillard and his Portland team didn't make it easy. Curry was cold the entire game. In the first half he was 0-for-9 from the arc. Everything just seemed off so he headed back to the bench. When starting point guard Shaun Livingston was ejected late in the second quarter. Curry was the go-to guy in the second half.
"What makes him special is a lot of God given talent, determination, love for the game and no agenda," Golden State's head coach Steve Kerr said at today's MVP press conference. "He makes our job incredibly easy and his confidence... I see very few players with that confidence."
Late in the fourth Curry banked his first 3-point shot and never looked back. His last two shots tied the game to end regulation. Curry then scored the final 17 points for the 132-125 win over the Trail Blazers. A remarkable performance that only a few great players can pull off. Losing one key player opened the door for another to come in and take over.
By overtime Curry found his rhythm and took flight! When he knocked down one of his many 3's in OT, Curry turned to the crowd and mouthed, "I'm here I'm back, I'm back!" This is why Curry was a unanimous decision for this year's MVP. Curry is the only player in Warriors history to win the MVP award twice. He set an NBA record with 402 three-pointers during regular season, besting his own previous league record with 286.
"I think we need to appreciate what we have right now," said Curry while addressing his teammates. "We want to keep it together. And we want to obviously see the end of this year out and finish our job and achieve our goal."
But before they continue on in the playoffs, let's take a look back at the accomplishments of the season. Golden State went 24-0 to start the season. They beat the Chicago Bulls 1995-96 72-10 record to end the regular season with a NBA best 73-9 record. Coach Kerr won Coach Of The Year and Curry received his second MVP in two straight seasons.
Curry joins Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Steve Nash as the only guards to earn the MVP honor in consecutive seasons. Nash was on hand to hand Curry his first MVP trophy while he was presented with his second today at his press conference. Curry became the league's first player to win unanimously. LeBron James (2013) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000) both came one vote shy of a unanimous selection.
"This is an Incredible honor," Curry said. "All of the hard work that went into this award... I look at the list of guys who've won before me, they're legends. To be the first unanimous vote. I can't even put into words... Its a huge honor. It's something I'll remember for the rest of my life."