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In this episode, Santiago and Hal discuss Steph Curry’s 50pt game and Warriors eliminating the Kings from the NBA Playoffs.
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Hal Phillips – @mandarinhal
Warriors 120 Kings 100
Steph Curry all but single-handedly carried the Warriors across the finish line as they defeated the Sacramento Kings 120-100 in Game 7 of their Western Conference series on Sunday.
Curry erupted for 50 points on 20-of-38 shooting, the most scored in a Game 7 in NBA history. Curry is the first player in Warriors history with 40-plus points in a Game 7.
This was the fifth Game 7 the Warriors have played in during the past 10 seasons. All of them have a measure of fame or notoriety — from falling to the LA Clippers in the first round in 2014 to completing a 3-1 comeback against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 to giving up a 3-1 advantage to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals. Then there was the game when the Houston Rockets missed 27 straight 3s in 2018.
Curry scored or assisted on 66 of Golden State’s points in Game 7. As a result of one of his shots or passes, he created 53 of the Warriors’ 100 attempted field goals.
His 38 shot attempts were the most he has had in an NBA game, and his 22 points in the paint also were a career high.
Curry got little help from his teammates early, as Thompson went 1-of-10 and Jordan Poole scored just five points in the first half. Through the first 24 minutes, the Warriors appeared to be outmatched by the Kings. Yet they trailed by just two points at halftime.
Golden State grabbed 23 rebounds to Sacramento’s nine, 13 of which were offensive, tied for the most they have had in any quarter in the past 20 campaigns (regular season or playoffs).
Once again, Kevon Looney was an inciting force, grabbing 10 of the Warriors’ third-quarter rebounds, eight of them on the offensive glass. The Warriors shot 3-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from the free throw line immediately after Looney’s offensive rebounds.
Curry scored 30 of his points in the second half, becoming the first player since 1996-97 to score that much in the second half in any Game 7.
Game 7 mirrored Golden State’s series as a whole: The Warriors looked outmatched early, missing five of their first six 3-pointers. Meanwhile, the Kings were cooking.
Golden State was the 22nd defending champion to trail 2-0 in a best-of-seven series. With the victory, it became the fifth team to come back and win the series. The Warriors are now 1-9 all time in a best-of-seven series when they trail 2-0.
The Warriors will now face the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals, with Game 1 on Tuesday at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Heat 109 Knicks 101
Heat defeated the New York Knicks 108-101 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup.
With 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, Butler drove to his right on Knicks guard Josh Hart. As Butler felt contact from Hart, he rose up for a shot. Hart fell but as he did, he kicked Butler’s right ankle. Butler fell to the ground in a heap and immediately grabbed at his foot. He was on the floor for a few minutes before gingerly walking toward the Heat bench.
Butler attempted one shot after the injury, a 3-pointer he missed from the corner with 1:15 left. He didn’t leave the game until there were 23.6 seconds left and the outcome was not in doubt. Spoelstra said Butler made it clear that he did want to come out of the game after the injury.
Butler finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 43 minutes, 27 seconds of work. The only time he missed in the second half was in the final seconds.
Lowry finished with 18 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in 29:59 off the bench. Lowry, listed at 6 feet, also had four blocks, setting a playoff career high. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Lowry became the shortest player with four blocks in a playoff game in the past 35 seasons. All four blocks came as the Knicks were driving in for layups.
Heat guard Gabe Vincent, who had 20 points, said the team will just have to see how bad Butler’s ankle injury is and adjust from there. But what if Miami has to play without Butler?
PREDICTIONS
76ers at Celtics – 7:30pm ET
HP: BOS
Suns at Nuggets (1) – 10pm ET
HP: PHX
Tues Games
Heat at Knicks, 7:30pm ET
LAL at GSW – 10pm ET
HP: GSW
