Stephen Curry enjoyed a good run of form in the opener of the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trailblazers. Scoring 36 points including three 3-pointers. Curry stated that starting strong and staying strong throughout the finals is the key to victory Freetips.com reports.
Speaking to skysports.com, he said “It’s nice to see the ball go in. I didn’t shoot the ball well for four-and-a-half the last series and got off to a good start tonight. I want to maintain that. Every game is different; you have got to re-establish yourself. That’s my perspective, no matter how I play. The way that we play, we try to get our tempo. I have the ball in my hands, and I have to be aggressive and try to make the right play every possession. It’s nice to make shots. Just being aggressive every single possession, usually good things happen. It’s fun when everyone’s running around, cutting, and we’re whipping the ball around. That’s when we’re at our best. I know what I’m capable of on the floor. The situation calls for me to be a little bit more aggressive and hopefully, that’ll continue.”
Fellow teammate Draymond Green reiterated what Curry said explaining that the strong start that Curry had shown was just what was needed particularly in the absence of Kevin Durant. Durant has been sidelined for the last two, and a half games with a calf injury and this has necessitated the Warriors going back to a more simplistic style of play, a style of play that suits Curry particularly.
The win at the Oracle Arena was an emphatic one, with the Warriors amassing a 116-94 victory. Warriors head coach was also in support of Curry’s efforts:
“Steph got free and had a big night. He carried us at times, and that was a big part of the game, [Portland] had to go to a tough Game 7 in Denver [on Sunday] and a quick turnaround, so the schedule favoured us. I thought we took advantage of the situation. The key stretch for us was the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. Our bench came in, did a fantastic job getting the lead back up to about 12 or so before we went back to our starters. So great job by our bench.” Steve Kerr was quoted as saying to skysports.com.
Back in 2015, the Warriors went on to win the championship following form like this and Curry secured an MVP award for his performance during their impressive season of 73 wins.
Curry was a popular favourite with the younger fans, and his playing style earned him the nickname of the silent assassin. That form was helped by Durant though, and it is speculated that he may not be able to maintain the pace without his teammate to back him. Curry hopes that he will be able to keep up the pace and while he is playing strong, it certainly looks like the Warriors are going be successful come the end of the season.
