For the fourth time in the last eight years, the Golden State Warriors are NBA Champions. Stephen Curry scored 34 points en route to his 4th ring, and his first career NBA Finals MVP.
“We did it man! We did it,” yelled Curry as he embraced with longtime teammate Andre Iguodola.
Despite the incredible flopping efforts of the Boston Celtics, the Warriors were able to rely on their championship DNA for a 4th title.
It is baffling that a team with such incredible talent on both ends would result to flopping like the Boston Celtics in Game 6, but in the end “ball don’t lie” as the kids say, right?
Thankfully, the better team rose above poor acting and poor officiating. Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Gary Payton all had signature performances in Game 6. Although Game 6 Klay didn’t shoot lights out, Golden State made the big shots when they needed to.
After Boston opened with a 12-2 run, Golden State responded with a 52-25 run during the remainder of the first half. Draymond Green pushed the envelope on offense and defense, which allowed Golden State to create lots of turnovers and play fast in transition.
Golden State opened up hot in the third quarter, with Curry hitting multiple deep threes to silence the Boston crowd. Thankfully for the Celtics faithful, Boston responded with a run of their own, fueled by some good acting.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum gave it their all. After two grueling series to end the Eastern Conference tournament, Boston was greeted by the greatest dynasty of the decade. Fighting through the fatigue, Brown scored 32 and Tatum made smart pass after smart pass.
Ultimately, even the Celtics dominating defense could not stifle one of the greatest offenses basketball has ever seen. Curry and the Warriors not only had the biggest run in NBA Finals history, 21-0, but they were able to do it on the defensive end thanks to incredible plays from Green and Wiggins.
Not enough good things can be said about the play of Andrew Wiggins. With Kevin Durant long gone, and Thompson still shooting inconsistently, Wiggins was the second best player on a championship team. After years of doubt following his #1 overall selection in 2014, Wiggins silenced all the doubt during this playoff run.
But, at the end of the day the man of the hour was Stephen Curry. Being defended by the defensive player of the year for six games, Curry still averaged 30.6 points per game, and in the words of his former coach Mark Jackson…
“Momma, there goes that man.”