DALLAS – Stephen Curry looked straight into the eyes of his coach, and his manager was not happy with the move.
The voice of PA announcer Sean Heath, usually boastful and always listened to by the Dallas Mavericks, broke when he asked for a moment of silence before the start of the Western Conference 4 Game 4 final, a rarity though commemorations in the arena of mass shootings are as common as pyrotechnics and tympanum. -Explosive music.
It must have been anything but a normal game, and fog seemed to be all over the American Airlines Center Tuesday night, with the Mavericks avoiding elimination and a late run of the Golden State Warriors’ reserves to get on the board. this series with a 119-109 victory.
Curry was not in the space for Steve Kerr’s passionate petition for gun availability legislation, but he saw Kerr’s emotional and heartbreaking challenge in Congress via Twitter and posted it on his account shortly before. of the party.
About 350 miles from Uvalde, closer to San Antonio than Dallas, Robb Elementary School became the last point on the map of the United States, stained with a massive shooting that took place at midnight on Tuesday. at least 21 lives.
“I appreciate his leadership. It’s in everyone’s mind to get into the game,” Curry said. “It’s a little hard to stay focused on playing basketball. It happened in that state. I have kids, I take them to school every day and I drop them off.”
And he expects them to return home safe, every day.
The pattern is unfortunate but familiar, to which Curry’s brother-in-law and teammate Damion Lee alluded moments later: waking up from a nap and checking Twitter, only to find out another school shooting. then checking with bus travel companions to the arena, comparing notes and information.
When the game is over, it’s almost impossible to open any social media app and not see an unknown face but an innocent one, maybe a kid with a long caption behind it, or a teacher who died trying to save lives.
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The notion is as clear as it is inevitable, and fear is not usually far from the initial shock.
“It’s just sad. You saw Steve’s press before the game. These are exactly my own feelings,” Lee said. “It simply came to our notice then. We need to reform it. It’s easier to get a gun than a baby formula. It’s incredible”.
Lee used air quotes when he said “the largest country in the world”, a common trop used to falsely contextualize or provide comfort to distressed citizens whose only power is to express anger and sadness at the social networks.
“Since we left filming, 14 children have been killed 400 miles from here and a teacher,” Kerr said hours earlier. “In the last 10 days, we’ve murdered black seniors at a supermarket in Buffalo, we’ve murdered Asian religious people in Southern California, now we have murdered children at school.
“When will we do something? I’m tired. I am very tired of going up here and offering my condolences to the devastated families out there. I’m so tired. Excuse me. Sorry. I’m tired of moments of silence. That’s enough. “
Kerr called the senators by name, talking about his own personal experience of the murder of his father, Malcolm Kerr in Beirut, when the Warriors coach was a star athlete in Arizona.
“Every word he said was powerful, it made sense,” Curry said. “I accept this challenge, I try to find ways to use my platform to make changes. You can say what it meant to him, go up to the microphone to say what he said. I appreciate your leadership.”
It didn’t look like the NBA had planned to postpone the game, in part because the postponements would take the season to August before it ended, unfortunately, and so the game went on.
It would be unfair to attribute the result to the events of the day, because the Mavericks do what they have always done when faced with elimination in these playoffs: they do everything. Luka Doncic did not have a superhuman night, but did not need, with 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in one night below 40%.
The Warriors have not been great in the closing games of this playoff series, including the Memphis Grizzlies’ helping hand with the Warriors falling behind by 50.
No such mockery had been found here, with the headlines ineffective after the first quarter and for the most part they took the defeat calmly. They led 16-13 and never again, barely registering as competitors until Golden State debutants Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody infused the game with a jolt of energy.
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga is defended by Dallas Mavericks striker Davis Bertans during the fourth game of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 24, 2022 in Dallas. (Photo by AP / Tony Gutierrez)
A 29-point lead fell to eight with the kids showing a glimpse of what they can do when given some play time, without looking too baffled by the playoff atmosphere. Kuminga scored 17 with eight rebounds and Moody 10, hitting about three corner kicks that could be useful later.
“It’s great, they had a chance to come out and make their presence felt, affect the game,” Curry said. “It builds a little bit of confidence and a little bit of experience in this series and what it feels like out there.”
The most troubling statistic of all is this: Curry was still an unknown talent for treating ankle problems, Kuminga was four years away from moving to the states and Moody was not yet in high school when this discussion about control of weapons reached a turning point in Sandy. Hook in Connecticut in December 2012, when children as young as 6 were shot dead.
The problem is no closer to the conclusion now than then, hence Kerr’s anger as he hit the desk before the game, frustrated and angry.
The two teams played and faced off on Tuesday, which is more than anyone can say for the people in power.