Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals will always be remembered for Kyrie Irving’s dagger three-pointer that gave the Cleveland Cavaliers the lead for good in the final minute of the game.
While many believe that Kai’s shot was what decided that championship series, Golden State Warriors superstar guard Steph Curry says that it was the shot that he took after Irving made a three that decided the fate of the Warriors.
“That was a shot where I was not under control,” said Curry. “And it cost us a championship.”
Steph thought he had a mismatch
After Irving hit the three to give the Cavs a 92-89 lead with 53.0 seconds left in the game, Curry dribbled the ball to the Warriors frontcourt. But instead of setting up a play for his team, he worked his way to get an open look because, in his words, “I gotta got at him,” referring to Kyrie.
“I’m like, ‘I just need a little space, and that’s where I started to rush,” Curry recalled.
Shortly after Steph crossed the halfcourt line, Draymond Green set a strong screen that forced his man, Kevin Love, to switch on to the Dubs guard. At that point, Steph said that his adrenaline surged. He felt he had a mismatch that he could take advantage of.
Then he made his move – a pump fake, he dribbled left and crossed over to his right. With the shot clock winding down, Chef Curry took a rushed three-pointer that was off the mark.
He went for the hero shot
LeBron James grabbed the rebound, and the Cavs wasted precious seconds off the clock before LeBron was fouled. King James split his charities, but with 10.6 seconds left in the game and the Cavs up 93-89, that was all she wrote.
Curry missed another three-pointer in the Dubs’ final possession, and the Cavs completed the first-ever 1-3 Finals comeback. For the Warriors, it was a tough end to the best regular season in the history of the NBA.
“I look back and think I could have easily gone around [Love] and gotten a 2, and we could have gotten a stop, and then I could come back down and hit another shot, and we win another championship instead of me going for the hero shot, which I felt like I could make,” he added.
Had the Warriors won that game, they would have made history. Not only would they have been crowned as the best team in the history of the NBA, they would’ve joined the 60’s Boston Celtics as the only teams to win at least four straight championships. But it wasn’t meant to be. Even the greatest shooter of all time misses.
