Curry’s Big Third Quarter Leads To Blowout Golden St. Victory, Denver On The Brink Of Elimination.
Sunday night in the final game of NBA action for weekend play, Warriors guard Stephen Curry officially had his national coming out party with a 31 point career game. Not even his injured left ankle could keep him out of this game, as Curry had himself injected twice for the injury before the game. It’s really amazing how this man wasn’t on the 2013 NBA All-Star Western Conference team; but after tonight’s showcase performance, we’re sure the NBA has officially been put on notice for Golden State Warriors (at least their future).
George Karl and the Denver Nuggets were back in Oakland again after their Friday night game 3 affair, where the Warriors rallied in the 3rd quarter to overcome a double-digit deficit and sustain their lead in the 4th quarter. In game 4, the Nuggets were looking to avoid a 3-1 hole headed back home and definitely didn’t want to give the Warriors any added motivation to gain confidence in the potential (now imminent) first round upset.
With David Lee out for the season with surgery for torn abdominal and abductor muscles, Golden St. found a scoring boost from Andrew Bogut to fill the void and Carl Landry providing much need points. Jarrett Jack helped run the role of point guard dishing out 9 assist, while Curry was getting his legs under him in time for the second half. Klay Thompson also contributed scoring to the back-court tandem shooting 50% from the field finishing with 13 points.
The keys in this game were the Nuggets lack of efficiency protecting the ball, as the team finished with 23 turnovers in comparison to Golden St.’s 16. Denver however won the rebound battle, fast break edge, points in the paint and also shot 15 more free throws; but the story was the Warriors long distance shooting. Golden St. shot 42% from beyond-the-arc hitting 11 three pointers (6 of which being from Steph Curry)
In the 3rd quarter, Steph Curry would score 22 of his 31 total points for the game leading the Warriors to a 25-10 run to enable a nearly 20 point lead before the 4th. We literally witnessed one of the most exciting quarters in NBA Playoff history, as Curry was on fire from the court literally.
From shooting corners three’s and turning around to stare at the Nuggets bench, shooting long distance shots fully behind the line, or even making circus shots for and-1’s; we witnessed everything in the book for Curry. The crowd would chant MVP, believing their team could win the game and the series. Golden St. would not give up the lead putting the finishing touches on a puzzled Denver Nuggets team.
Denver now heads back home to regroup now under a must-win situation in game 5 to keep their season alive. The San Antonio Spurs swept the Los Angeles Lakers and are currently awaiting the winner of this series. If the Warriors want any legitimate shot at a deep run in this year’s players; finishing the Nuggets on the road in game (which won’t be an easy task) will show the NBA world whether they’re ready for the main stage in the NBA playoffs, or will settle for a potential game 6 close out. If you’re not watching this series, this is by far the one we’ve been enjoying the most.
Win or Go HOME!
OS REWIND: Golden State Warriors “Man vs. Machine”