36 Hours:

36 hours. That’s the time between the Warriors’ 118-99 loss at home and the 120-100 closeout victory by the Dubs on the road against the Kings. Two virtually identical scores, but the turning factor that contributed to the improbable victory, Steph Curry. 

Steph Curry Basketball GIF - StephCurry Basketball GoldenStateWarriors ...

Steph scored 50 points–the most points he’s ever scored in the postseason and the most points ever scored in a game 7 in NBA history. Since entering the league in 2009, Steph has gradually developed into an avalanche that rips the opponent’s heart out. But over the course of the last couple of seasons, he’s added the ability to break an opponent’s will on demand. 

Look at game 6. Steph Curry scored 29 points 9-21 shooting. He had two other teammates who scored in double figures with a combined 35 points. Outside of Steph Curry, the team shot 23-65 (35 percent). 

The Warriors trailed by seven at the half and were beaten 60-48 in the second half. The Warriors needed 19 points from someone and couldn’t deliver. 

Impending Danger…

In game 7, with the Warriors on the road, three players scored in double figures that were not named Steph Curry. Everyone else scored 70 points on 23-62 shooting (37 percent). Not great. 

So, in the biggest game of the year, with the legacy of the dynasty virtually in the balance, Steph Curry scores 50 points, shooting 20-38, 7-18 from 3-point range. The Warriors didn’t get the other guy. Instead, Steph decided to be the one to shoulder the load. He scored the extra 21 points and took 17 extra shots. This was the performance they needed. And he turned it on right when it was required.

S T E P H WARNING

Steph Avalanche

For four quarters, Steph Curry was a heart-snatching one-man avalanche, burying Sacramento’s hopes of dreams. He was dribbling through the entire Kings’ defense, splitting doubles teams like a motorcycle. Weaving in and out of traffic, and unloading an entire bag of teardrops, floaters, reverse lay-ins, and those triples from the satellite that gives opponent’s heartburn. 

Two times now, I’ve seen Steph Curry turn on the thing that was an organic explosion into a bomb that detonates with a button. What we saw from him in game 7 is the same nuclear bomb that he handed TD Garden in game 4 with the Warriors down two games to one. The game where he erupted for 43 points on 14-26 from the floor. 

At 35, he’s no longer just this spontaneous combustion of matter that we saw from him as the unanimous MVP. He’s evolved into an inevitability. A certainty of ruin. Steph Curry is a forecast of rain that pours before warning. A lightning strike that incinerates upon impact. He’s dangerous even when his smile gives the appearance of clear skies. Because if you’re around when an avalanche occurs, all you can do is look up and pray you aren’t caught in its net of destruction. 

That’s the Steph Curry the Kings saw in game 7. The avalanche they didn’t even see coming. 

Avalanche GIFs | Tenor