May 23, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after scoring during the game against the Houston Rockets in game three of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
6’ 3,” 190 pounds vs. 6’11,” 275 pounds.
It was with 5:30 left in the second quarter where Steph Curry boxed out the physical specimen known as Dwight Howard. Curry’s team wasn’t down 11, wasn’t in dire need of a win trailing 2-0 in the Western Conference and wasn’t playing at home.
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Curry got inside position on Howard and ripped down a one-handed rebound with his left hand before getting fouled by a befuddled Howard. The play was emblematic of how the Warriors have come to become title favorites: defensive intensity, smarts and the consistent mindset that they can’t lose when playing their best basketball.
The Golden State Warriors, like Curry, were once seen as hopeless. Marred with dreadful draft picks, even worse trades and dysfunctional ownership, the Warriors were the doormats of the NBA for decades. Curry, riddled with ankle injuries, a slew of coaches and questions about size, didn’t have a role.
May 23, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
It wasn’t long ago where Curry was battling with Acie Law for rights to the point guard position, Mikki Moore was starting at center and Jeremy Tyler was seen as a future force in the frontcourt. Now, after a 115-80 clinic over the Houston Rockets, the match made in basketball heaven known as the Golden State Warriors is one win away from the NBA Finals.
“They played better than we did in all aspects of the game,” said Rockets head coach Kevin McHale. “I was surprised we didn’t come out with a little more juice.” The lack of “juice,” as McHale puts it was most evident in Curry’s boxing out of Howard, which saw Curry move the center nearly out of the restricted area before snatching the rebound.
The Rockets finished second in the Western Conference with a 56-26 record, but you wouldn’t know it by their mental state. Despite the success, they’re a fragile team with personalities that aren’t of a championship level. They collected themselves for a historic comeback against the Los Angeles Clippers, but they looked nothing short of defeated on Friday.
The Warriors didn’t need many adjustments, but that doesn’t mean the ones made didn’t have a huge impact on the proceedings. While Klay Thompson was doing an admirable job on Harden, the coaching staff waited until Game 3 to fully deploy the bodies on the MVP runner-up. Harden saw plenty of Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala in addition to Thompson, and it showed in his lack of production.
When asked after the game what adjustments the opposition made on him, Harden simply said “None.” Through two games, Harden was averaging 33 points, 10.5 rebounds and nine rebounds. Friday, he only mustered 17 points on 3-for-16 shooting and a game low -31. Whether he admits it or not, Harden was left without an answer for the first time in this series. The step backs fell short, the crossovers fooled no one and he was met with resistance in the form of Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli nearly every time down in the paint.
May 23, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
On a night when Harrison Barnes was 0-for-9 with zero points, Thompson was 6-for-16 and Bogut played a mere (albeit dominant) 20 minutes because of foul trouble, it was the MVP who once again dominated in ways only Curry knows how: sheer basketball nirvana. He had 40 points – 19 in the third quarter – on 12-for-19 shooting with seven threes, seven assists and only two turnovers.
“I’ve got a lot of great guys setting great screens,” Curry said humbly after Game 3. While true, Curry was left wide open on multiple plays due to lack of awareness from multiple Rockets players. Curry even got vocal in one particular corner of the floor, where a fan yelled what he said was “a four-letter word” in his direction. Instead of distracting, it fueled him, as Curry continued to hit shots and even had the same fan sticking his hand out for a high-five shortly following.
The Rockets are grounded, and unlike their last series, the Warriors aren’t ones for offensive droughts, extended defensive lapses or a lack of basketball IQ. There will be no comeback, and that’s not hyperbole: no team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-7 series in NBA history (0-116). In a must-win situation, the Rockets played their worst game of the series, and they’ll soon have plenty of time to think about it.
No one is playing better basketball in the league than Steph Curry. After a tough two-game stretch against Memphis last series, Curry has fought back to perform in ways that Warriors fans have come to known, but still stand in awe of. The MVP’s entire arsenal of moves was on display in Houston, and the Rockets looked equally befuddled as they did content with the result.
“People always ask me what Steph Curry is like and what’s it like to play with Steph Curry,” said Draymond Green afterwards. “I tell them I get the same show you get but I have an even better seat.”
Warriors’ fans and the basketball world have a pretty good seat too.