SAN FRANCISCO — Game 5 of the NBA Finals was such a bizarre showcase of 3-point shots that Steph Curry did not make any of his nine tries.
So ended Curry’s NBA-record streaks that included at least one 3-pointer in 132 career playoff games and 233 overall consecutive games.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier after an 0-for-whatever type of night, just knowing the context of the game,” Curry said of Monday night’s 104-94 win, which gave the Warriors a 3-2 series lead for a potential championship-clincher Thursday night in Boston.
Yes, a championship is indeed on the line. That line apparently is the 3-point arc, which was not Curry’s friend in this win.
“He was 0-for-9 from three, and he’s going to be livid going into Game 6. That’s exactly what we need,” Draymond Green said.
“he has leeway, he can have a bad night. I just know he’ll respond,” Klay Thompson added.
Curry agreed with his long-time wingmen: “Track record says I’ll shoot the ball better next game and I’m looking forward to that bounce back.”
Steph Curry on going 0-for-9 on 3-point attempts and not sinking one for first time in 133 career playoff games pic.twitter.com/qCVm4XsLY3
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) June 14, 2022
Curry was not alone in dry spells.
The Celtics opened 0-for-12 from 3-point range (the most to ever start a Finals game), and then made their next eight attempts (the most in a row in a Finals game).
The Warriors shot blanks on 13 consecutive 3-point attempts, then came alive late in the third quarter, capped by Jordan Poole’s buzzer beater from 38 feet that banked in for a 75-74 lead.
“Jordan hitting that shot right before the clock expired was a huge momentum shift for us,” Green said.
Poole (16 points, 3-of-6 from 3-point range) said of his third-quarter finale: “I always want those and my teammates look for me on those.”
#NBAFinals Game 5#Warriors 104, #Celtics 94
Steph Curry goes 0-for-9 from 3-point range, first of 133 career playoff games without a 3-pointer pic.twitter.com/mTcxyihP2P
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) June 14, 2022
Each team keeps dialing up long-distance shots. They’re missing a bunch, then making a bunch. Except for Curry on Monday night, though he finished with 16 points and made 7-of-13 shots from inside the arc.
“Of course it bothers me as a shooter. You want to impact a game that way,” Curry said. “Thankfully that’s not the only thing you do out there on the court. … “You embrace the fact that even if it’s not pretty, you win the game and that’s all that matters.”
Curry expected the Celtics’ to better defend the Warriors’ pick-and-roll plays and to play him more aggressively. As a result, he tried to use that aggression against them by driving into the paint, and by doling out eight assists.
“Well Steph is the best to ever shoot it. I tell you what, everyone in the building and fans watching, believe the ball is going in when it leaves his fingertips,” Thompson said.
Thompson now holds the record for most consecutive playoff games with a 3-pointer, that being 55 games. Curry’s last overall game without a 3-pointer: Nov. 8, 2018 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Steph was probably due for a game like this,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s been shooting the ball so well that, at some point, he was going to have a tough night. But we’ve got a lot of talent and a lot of depth that can make up for that, and the guys did a good job of that tonight.”
The Warriors made just 9-of-40 from 3-point range, and even leading scorer Andrew Wiggins made none (0-for-6) on a 26-point night. Klay Thompson led the way as he shot 5-of-11 from 3-point land, including back-to-back hits late in a topsy-turvy third quarter.
With 9:30 to go, Thompson extended the Warriors’ lead to 82-74 when he made a wide-open 3-pointer, once Marcus Smart hit the deck. Smart, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, insisted Thompson’s forearm check merited an offensive foul, rather than another offensive basket.
A day later, #Celtics didn’t listen to Magic. They’re 0-of-12 from 3-point range to open Game 5 vs #Warriors https://t.co/M9vnDJUXR6
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) June 14, 2022
The Celtics finished 11-of-32 from 3-point range, including 5-of-9 from Jayson Tatum, 0-for-5 from Jaylen Brown and 3-of-6 from Smart.
Green credited the Warriors’ win to (cue: motto) their strength in numbers.
“Everybody’s doing their part, and tonight, a night that he didn’t have it going, we found offense elsewhere, and that’s kind of what it’s been,” Green said. “On the same token, if he’s got it going, we’re going to be heavy Steph Curry. That’s just what it is.”
Curry poured in 43 points in Game 4 to raise his NBA Finals average to 34.3 points per game, and his seven 3-pointers that series-turning win gave him 25 in these Finals, seven shy of the NBA record he set in the 2016 title run against Cleveland.
Prior to Monday’s win, Curry made at least five 3-pointers in the previous four games, the longest such stretch in Finals history.
This series opened with Curry making six 3-pointers in the opening quarter of Game 1. Since then, seemingly everyone keeps trying to duplicate that effort. The Celtics did a fabulous job of that to steal that series opener at Chase Center, with Al Horford hitting 6-of-8 on 3-point tries.
Magic Johnson chimed in after the Celtics’ 15-for-38 effort from 3-point range in their Game 4 loss at home: “The Celtics must have thought they were a better three-point shooting team than the Warriors, because in the last 6 minutes, every shot was a three-pointer, AND they keep missing. That’s why they lost!”
Here is how the 3-point shooting went through four games (and how each team’s top two stars converted):
Game 1 (Celtics win):
Warriors 19-of-45 (Curry 7-of-14, Thompson 3-of-7)
Celtics 21-of-41 (Tatum 1-of-5, Brown 2-of-8)
Game 2 (Warriors win):
Warriors 15-of-37 (Curry 5-of-12, Thompson 1-of-8)
Celtics 15-of-37 (Tatum 6-of-9, Brown 3-of-9)
Game 3 (Celtics win):
Warriors 15-of-40 (Curry 6-of-11, Thompson 5-of-13)
Celtics 13-of-35 (Tatum 3-of-9, Brown 4-of-8)
Game 4 (Warriors win):
Warriors 15-of-43 (Curry 7-of-14, Thompson 4-of-10)
Celtics 15-of-38 (Tatum 4-of-8, Brown 2-of-6)
“We’re never stressed or worried about No. 30,” Thompson added about Curry. “He has done so much and elevated this franchise to a place where it was hard to even imagine that he has leeway, he can have a bad night. I just know he’ll respond.”
“One more win. We have to figure out a way to get it done,” Curry said. “… Yeah, there’s a fire burning and I want to make shots, but the rest of it is about how we win the game, and we did that (in Game 5).”
Source: www.mercurynews.com