Following LeBron James` high-scoring Game 2 performance, Stephen Curry also delivered a remarkable, `How is he still doing this?` type of game in Saturday`s Game 3 against the Rockets.
The key difference: Curry`s masterpiece resulted in a victory.
Playing without Jimmy Butler, who was sidelined with a pelvic and glute injury, Curry donned his superhero cape, pouring in 36 points along with nine assists, seven rebounds, five three-pointers, and even two blocks. Despite trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half and managing only 18 in the first quarter, the Warriors pulled off a gritty 104-93 win to grab a 2-1 advantage in what continues to be an intensely contested series.
“In this series, no game is gonna be pretty,” Curry commented. “You just kind of have to grind it out, stick with the runs. We had 22 points, like, halfway through the first half and you`re looking up like, how are we gonna score? You just stick with it and make the right play and the shots started to fall. We made a really good defensive stand, Draymond was unbelievable, everybody who came in stepped up in place of Jimmy. Hopefully he`s back soon.”
With Butler absent, Curry faces relentless defensive pressure on every possession. Defenders are constantly tracking him, aware he`s trying to create scoring opportunities, and yet he still succeeds. To maintain balance and composure against such intense defense and the resulting fatigue, finding even a slight bit of space to execute his exceptional shots, is astonishing, no matter how often he does it.
“We`re not going to hold him to three points every time we play them,” said Houston`s Fred VanVleet, referencing a previous game where they limited Curry to just three points. “We have to understand that. This is one of the all-time greats. I thought our coverages were a little slow tonight, some of the switching, some of the physicality [on Curry] was a touch down from how we had it ramped up the previous game, but this is the playoffs. It`s all about adjustments and chess match and different things.”
VanVleet added, “[The Warriors] were prepared. I thought they executed at a higher level than we did, and sometimes that`s all it comes down to. [Curry] got some clean looks, more so than we would like, so we got to try to limit his opportunities and make his life a little bit harder out there, but obviously that`s a tough cover.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr initially joked that reporters could just “copy-paste” his comments about Curry from the last 11 years before elaborating.
“I mean he`s Steph Curry. He`s one of the greatest players of all time,” Kerr stated. “He`s 37 [years old]. He`s one of the most well-conditioned athletes I`ve ever seen in my life. To play 41 minutes against that kind of defense, to have a slow start and then find his rhythm, which we`ve seen him do countless times over the years, to hit big shots, to only turn it over twice against that kind of pressure, he was brilliant.”
Kerr noted the slow beginning; Curry scored only two points in the first quarter and missed his initial two three-point attempts. However, similar to Game 1 where he drove to the basket to get going before hitting threes, Curry attacked the paint against the perimeter pressure, finishing a couple of shots near the rim to break through. Soon after, he erupted for 13 second-quarter points and maintained his offensive flow.
Curry wasn`t alone in this victory. Although his superstar running mate was out, four other players stepped up heroically, albeit in less heralded roles.
- Buddy Hield: Helped keep the Warriors afloat during tough stretches in the first half and drained two crucial three-pointers in the second half. One shot provided a vital cushion during the few minutes Curry rested in the fourth quarter. Hield finished with 17 points and five three-pointers, and his plus-14 plus/minus was second only to Curry`s plus-18. He delivered monster minutes.
“He seizes these type of moments,” Hield said about Curry. “I`ve watched him my whole life, [from] college to now and the previous playoff runs he`s been on. Watching against this physical team, he embraces that. He thrives off that. You look at him, he`s smaller than everybody but he`s a competitor and he`s just going to be competing and giving it his all every night.”
- Draymond Green: Filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, seven points, four assists, three blocks, and two steals. The Warriors were plus-12 with him on the court for 34 minutes. He effectively guarded Alperen Sengun, limiting him to 7-of-18 shooting, and battled fiercely to help the Warriors contend with Houston`s size.
- Gary Payton II: Contributed 11 points in the fourth quarter, including nine consecutive points over a two-minute span. This stretch turned a one-point deficit into a six-point lead with less than four minutes remaining.
- Quentin Post: Typically valued for his shooting, Post missed all three of his three-point attempts and scored only two points but made a significant impact with 12 rebounds, three of which were offensive boards crucial for gaining extra possessions. Post was exceptional in areas not usually associated with his game. Given the stage and the team`s desperate need for interior presence against a size disadvantage, this was arguably the best game of Post`s career.
“This is what the playoffs are about … they`re about injuries and they`re about guys stepping up. We had both today with Jimmy being out,” Kerr commented on the support players` contributions. “You have to be able to withstand that and win a game here, and we`ve done that for many years. We`ve had some of our most important guys miss multiple games in a series. This is what you have to do. You`ve got to find a way, and our guys did that today.”
They certainly did. As Curry mentioned, it wasn`t always aesthetically pleasing. But this game exemplifies the long history of gritty wins for the Warriors, a team that, even during its peak offensive years, has been grounded in an exceptional collective competitiveness. This team battles relentlessly. They always have. This was a game the Warriors arguably should have lost, but they didn`t. They managed to steal a victory while Butler was sidelined. If he returns for Monday`s game, they will have an opportunity to take significant control of the series. For now, a 2-1 lead is a solid outcome.
Jasper Hawthorne