Stephen Curry failed to make a 3 for the first time in 133 playoff games, and the Warriors still won
Not only did Stephen Curry have his worst game of the NBA Finals on Monday, he had the worst 3-point shooting night of his playoff career.
And the Warriors still won.
Golden State bounced back from a third-quarter Boston run to take control of the fourth for a 104-94 Game 5 win to take a 3-2 series lead over the Celtics. They did so with Curry failing to connect on a single 3-pointer.
Curry finished Game 5 with 16 points, eight assists and three rebounds while shooting 7 of 22 from the field and 0 for 9 from 3-point distance. We'll state that again for emphasis. Curry finished 0 for 9 from 3-point distance.
2 remarkable 3-point streaks come to an end for Curry
If that sounds shocking, your ears do not deceive you. Prior to Monday, Curry played in 132 career playoff games while winning three NBA championships and making it to six NBA Finals. In each of those games, he connected on at least one 3-point shot.
But wait. There's more. Not only did Curry snap a 132-game playoff streak with at least one 3-pointer, he entered Monday on a streak of 233 straight regular and postseason games with at least one made 3. Now he'll have to start over. All great things must come to an end, right?
Head coach Steve Kerr chalked it up to Curry being "due."
"I think Steph was probably due for a game like this," Kerr told reporters in his postgame news conference. "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."
So just how did the Warriors pull off the win with their best player having an off night? Andrew Wiggins stepped up big to the tune of 26 points and 13 rebounds. Klay Thompson was not cold from deep, where he connected on 5 of 11 3-point shots in a 21-point effort. Meanwhile, Golden State's defense attacked Boston's Achilles heel, forcing 18 Celtics turnovers, nine of them via steals. The Warriors offense countered with just six giveaways.
These Warriors have often lived and died with Curry's offense. But on Monday when it mattered most, Golden State secured the win when Curry's shot was off thanks to a true team effort. Curry is surely pleased to take that result in exchange for his now-defunct 3-point streak.
