Stephen Curry had made at least one 3-pointer in 132 straight postseason matches (which, incidentally, is every postseason game he’d ever played) and multiple 3-pointers in 38 consecutive playoff games when Game 5 of the 2022 Finals rolled along. Curry had made a 3-pointer in 233 consecutive games, counting the regular season. All of those accomplishments were NBA firsts. On Monday, this all came to an end.
Curry is a legend
Curry went 0-for-9 from 3-point range in Game 5 after a historic start to the series, becoming the first player in NBA history to generate at least five 3-pointers in four consecutive Finals games, and he doesn’t seem to mind. The Warriors won the game 104-94, taking a 3-2 series lead. On Thursday, they have a chance to win their fourth championship within the last eight years in Boston.
On Monday, it wasn’t just Curry who was feeling under the weather. The Warriors failed to hit 31 3-pointers as a team (9-for-40), tying for the second-highest number of misses in a Finals victory. In response, the Warriors aren’t quite as pick-and-roll heavy as they had been earlier in the series, relying more on Curry’s off-ball style, which can make it difficult to get to your favourite shots in favoured positions against Boston’s switching. Curry was never able to find his stride. The majority of his misses were not even near.
Steve Kar had this to say:
“I think Steph was probably due for a game like this,” Steve Kerr said. “He’s been shooting the ball so well that, at some point, he was going to have a tough night. Boston did a really good job defensively, as we would expect. They are a great defensive team. I thought they put more pressure on him early in pick-and-roll. And Steph missed some open ones, too.
“So it’s always a combination,” Kerr continued. “But even for the best shooter in the world, you know, games like this happen. And, fortunately, they don’t happen too often. I like Steph coming off of a game like this, too. I like his ability to bounce back.”
Curry agrees.
“Track record says I’ll shoot the ball better next game,” Curry said. “And I’m looking forward to that bounce-back.”
Curry’s previous record (regular season) of 159 consecutive games with at least 1 made 3-pointer came to an end on Nov. 4, 2016, when he went 0-for-10 against the Lakers. Three days later, he broke the single-game record with 13 3-pointers against the Pelicans, breaking it at the time. Curry and the Warriors appear to be in good shape heading into Game 6 on Thursday.
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