SAN FRANCISCO – If Steph Curry, after six physically draining games against the Rockets, was nervous about the prospect of a win-or-go-home showdown in Houston following the Warriors’ 115-107 loss in Game 6 on Friday, he did not show it.
Instead, in his trademark deadpan, the future Hall of Famer emphasized that he and his veteran teammates had been in plenty of high-pressure situations before.
Game 7 in Houston with the season on the line Sunday?
Nothing the Warriors haven’t dealt with — and overcome — over the past decade.
“If you don’t show up with that appropriate mentality, then we’re on vacation,” Curry said after scoring 29 points in Game 6 while playing nearly all of the second half. “We want to be the team that’s packing for a week, getting on this plane to go to Texas and hopefully go to Minnesota right after that.”
The Warriors will play the Timberwolves in the second round if they advance. The series would open in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
“I can tell you our guys are going to be excited,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “As I said, I have every confidence that they can get this done.”
With Curry on the roster, Kerr has every right to be confident regardless of the team’s form the past two games.
The last time the Warriors played in a Game 7, two seasons ago in Sacramento, Curry had an epic 50-point performance as the Warriors prevailed 120-100.
“We look to him to do something special every night for the last 13 years I’ve been here,” Draymond Green said. “I don’t think it’s any different.”
Curry has had his share of other Game 7 masterpieces while going 3-2 in such games.
In a 2016 closeout victory over the Thunder in the Western Conference finals to cap off their own comeback from down 3-1, Curry scored 36 points and ended the Kevin Durant era in Oklahoma City. Of course, that year was the last time the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead of their own, infamously in the 2016 Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Curry also has beaten Houston in a Game 7.
During the 2018 Western Conference finals against the James Harden-led Rockets, Curry barely missed out on a triple-double with 27 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists as the Warriors won on the road 101-92.
Curry repeatedly emphasized that his Warriors teammates needed to be aggressive when looking to score against the Rockets hard-nosed defense, but also acknowledged that another 50-point scoring binge might be needed.
“That was just a great game overall,” Curry said about his memorable Game 7 against the Kings. “Hopefully I can repeat that.”
Now 37, Curry’s health – and the age of some of his teammates — has been a consistent talking point throughout the series.
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Before dropping 29 points on Friday, Curry had scored 17 and then 13 points on iffy efficiency in the previous two games while struggling with turnovers.
But he was adamant after the game Friday that tired legs will not be a factor against a Rockets team that has vexed the Warriors with a zone.
“I actually feel great,” Curry said. “You’re having to work. That’s fine. I think it’s weird, cause the zone, it doesn’t necessarily take the most out of you or demand the most physically.”
Curry acknowledged that Game 7’s present another level of pressure for players, but believed that brought out the best in him.
“You understand the stakes. If you don’t play your best game or you don’t figure out a way to win, you’re going home,” Curry said. “But it’s also exhilarating because when you do, it brings the best out of you.”
“There’s no better feeling than closing out a series with just the whole Game 7 vibe.”
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