BOSTON -- Steph Curry put the Warriors on his back and ultimately helped Golden State earn a pivotal 107-97 win on the road against the Boston Celtics during Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Curry, as he has been throughout much of the best-of-seven series, was the best player on the floor at TD Garden on Friday night. The Warriors sharpshooter finished with a game-high 43 points while hitting seven 3-pointers (14-for-26 from the field).
"A lot of credit to him. He was great tonight," Al Horford said of Curry, who scored 14 points in the third quarter alone. "I think you have to give him his credit when credit is due. Just really tough and made plays for their team and put them in a position to win the game. Got to give him credit."
Curry was exceptional. He made contested jumpers, got into the paint and the 6-foot-2 point guard contributed on the glass with 10 rebounds including two of Golden State's 16 offensive boards. He continued to defy logic with how little room he needed to get a shot off.
"We were there. He's a great player; he made shots," Marcus Smart said of Curry. "He made a lot of the shots where we were contesting from behind. We had somebody there and he was just making them. That's what he does. We obviously have to do a better job of limiting that. We got to make it even more tough for him. It is what it is."
Curry's Warriors would have faced a very difficult road should they have allowed the Celtics to claim a 3-1 series lead. Fortunately for the Dubs, the best shooter on the planet helped them avoid that.
His Warriors teammates, along with the NBA community at large, all reacted to the signature showing.
"We could have done our job better. But give credit to him. He's one of the best players in the world," Jaylen Brown said. "He's been here before. He had it rolling tonight. Big performance by him. But we have to do a better job of containing. It's tough. It's hard. But we know. We never said it was supposed to be easy. We just get ready for the next game. That's it."
The series now will shift to Golden State for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday at the Chase Center. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. ET.
