NBA: Curry’s late heroics lift Warriors over Giannis-less Bucks
Stephen Curry rallied the defending National Basketball Association (NBA) champions the Golden State Warriors on Saturday to deliver a 125-116 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks which his coach called “championship stuff”.
The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player scored 22 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, with key three-pointers and a timely block helping Golden State stretch their home winning streak to seven games, The Strait Times reported.
“We feed off our crowd’s energy,” Curry said.
“Whatever it is in terms of our focus and energy and effort, it’s giving us a chance no matter what the score is down the stretch.”
While his scoring burst was impressive, it was his late block on Jrue Holiday that captured the attention.
Shortly after Curry scored a game-levelling three-pointer with 19 seconds in regulation time, he denied the Bucks’ two-time All-Star guard to send the game into overtime.
“When you (make) a couple of big shots down the stretch and then find yourself in a position to make a play on the other side, I think that gives everybody a good boost,” Curry was quoted by ESPN as saying.
“I think I got more compliments on that in the locker room than any shot I made tonight.”
It definitely got 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green purring.
He said: “He came out of nowhere. Jrue had a straight line drive to the rim... It was great to see him use the rules of verticality and get that block.”
His coach Steve Kerr added: “Steph was incredible, and he did it against one of the great defenders in Jrue Holiday.
“It’s amazing watching those two guys battle. Steph is fearless. It doesn’t matter if there is a slow start or if he hasn’t had much going, he can ignite at any time.”
The Bucks, playing without two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo due to his sore right hand, saw their nine-game road winning streak snapped and their NBA-best record fall to 48-19.
Milwaukee led by five in the final minute, but Curry sank a three-pointer and made a fast break layup to tie the game.