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May 11, 2019

Ender's Game

Golden State entered Game 6, and a possible Game 7, with Curry staring at his moment of truth: Either he was going to live up to the hype that began building in 2015, or he was going to embark on a new chapter of his career with critics wondering whether Harden, and other stars, had surpassed him and whether Durant was about to leave in free agency.


The after-halftime turnaround started slowly, with a missed three-pointer followed by a simple layup to get on the board. His confidence swelling, Curry hit a floater, and a corner three, and a lefty scoop. As a close game went deeper into the fourth quarter, he sensed the Rockets were staggering and kept ratcheting up his attacks. Another floater. A right angle three. A nifty run through an open paint for a banking layup. During a dead ball late in the fourth, he shook his injured left hand and winced in pain, doubling over at the waist.

 Clinging to a two-point lead with 90 seconds left, Curry wielded the dagger. Blanketed by PJ Tucker — an experienced, physical and brilliant defender — he went behind-the-back twice in search of a rhythm. Feeling it, he crossed over from right-to-left, and then left-to-right, to generate some breathing room.

 A quick stutter, a hop to his right and he was free, launching a three-pointer over Tucker’s right hand from the right angle. The ball swished through, and soon thousands of Rockets fans were headed to the exits, not waiting to see Curry seal the win from the free throw line.


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2 comments:

  1. VMMMay 11, 2019 at 7:34 PM

    Wish I would have watched that one, I do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Other FrontMay 12, 2019 at 10:56 PM

    Here is a good account with a lot of illustrative video.

    For me, this was the defining sequence, and the end of the Rockets as we know them. Steph straight-up murder PJ Tucker, their best defender with a behind-the-back crossover left, a behind the-back-crossover right, and a relocation further right and a fallaway three pointer.

    Harden - who must have been exhausted at this point - takes the ball out and carelessly throws it in, allowing Thompson to pick it off. Ballgame.

    ReplyDelete