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Well, that was fun while it lasted. You know, that brief feeling that the 2016 NBA playoff race was wide open. That the seemingly increasingly intense round two battle between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder matters. That Cleveland blowing through the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons makes them a serious threat.
Curry’s Back
Nope, none of that matters now. And all it took was a fire-laden overtime run from the MVP himself, Stephen Curry.
After missing the first three games of Golden State’s round two series and four straight, Curry returned to help off the bench. Things didn’t go as planned initially, as the Dubs fell behind early and were down as bad as 21-5 in the first stanza. Curry didn’t even find his footing until the second half, either, looking a little timid and not completely comfortable on his way to just 11 first half points.
Stephen Curry’s return for the ages lifts the Warriors past the Blazers (by @BenGolliver) https://t.co/KJgf1J5v5b pic.twitter.com/1J2iPLpQAw
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 10, 2016
Curry began to blow the hinges off in the second half, however, adding an additional 12 points to help force overtime. And from there, well, he showed us all why he just won the league MVP for the second straight year and why we were all a bit silly to really doubt him or the Warriors at all.
Curry gonna Curry, and all.
Steph Curry returned in epic fashion last night to make history in Warriors’ overtime win. pic.twitter.com/DQiDmGKFtg
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 10, 2016
His NBA record 17 points in the extra period sent the Blazers into a 3-1 hole, while Curry capped the hot run with an emphatic statement: “I’m back”. Yes, he’s back, indeed.
Still the Favorites
And where do we go from here? Nowhere, really. Per Bovada, nothing has really changed when it comes to the 2016 NBA Finals odds. Curry’s crew is still the favorite (-130), with the Cavs (+250) as the next best bet as the the team likely to meet Golden State in the final series of the year for the second season in a row.
There is some chatter about the Cavs being dangerous. They’re driven, they haven’t lost in these playoffs yet and they’ll be out for blood after falling to the Dubs last year. Sure, maybe all of that is true, but probably not.
The reality is, this is how Golden State plays. They fly by the seat of their pants, they never stop shooting, they defend, they share the rock and most of all, they let Curry do his thing. Because of all that, they don’t waver, they don’t doubt and they’re never out of any game.
Truth be told, the Warriors probably should have lost game four and we should be looking at a 2-2 tie going into game five. Then again, they could or should have lost more games with Curry sidelined with a sprained knee, too. But that’s the thing; they don’t operate on our laws of logic. They set the NBA single-season for records at 73, they lost on their home floor twice all year, they didn’t lose back to back games all season and they wrecked the top teams in the league.
It’s going to take insanity to destroy insanity. And by the looks of it, Curry isn’t done yet and there really isn’t anyone else capable of topping him.
