At 34, Curry may be in the twilight of his career, but he looked like a man who was still playing at the absolute peak of his powers.
Curry, who had been a doubt for this match with an injury suffered in match 3, made 14 of his 26 field attempts and seven of 14 in three. But it wasn’t just his remarkable performance in front of a shrill Boston crowd that made this performance special.
The man many believe to be the greatest shooter of all time was making long-range out-of-contact triples, hard bands and showing the absurdly silky handles that have made him one of the toughest players to defend in the world. ‘NBA.
Teammate Klay Thompson said he believed Friday’s master class was “probably No. 1” in Curry’s best performances in the finals.
“I mean, this was almost a must-have game,” Thompson told reporters. “And he went out there and fired just as effectively as he did, and he caught 10 rebounds and they were attacking him on defense; I mean, his conditioning is unbeatable in this league.
“Steph played amazing … Come on in the fifth game, we’ll have to help him. Asking him to score 43 every night is ridiculous.
“It’s special to see what he does,” Thompson added. “He does it so often that you take it for granted, but I’m mesmerized just like the rest of the crowd. It seems effortless.”
But Curry, who had 10 rebounds and five assists, did not bother to qualify for his individual Finals displays.
“I don’t value my performances. I just want to win the game,” Curry told reporters.
However, as has been the case for much of this series of finals, Curry was again disappointed by teammates star Thompson and Draymond Green.
Green, in particular, has received strong criticism from fans and experts, and some suggest he seems more concerned with trying to irritate opponents than with his performances on the court.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, while Jaylen Brown recorded 21 points, six rebounds and two assists.
It was only a three-point game until the final 90 seconds after Al Horford locked in a big three, but the Celtics’ attack was stale in the final stages and they didn’t get another point.
The teams are now back in San Francisco for the game 5 Monday night, as the Warriors are looking to get the most out of regaining the home court advantage.