Stephen Curry looked nothing like his MVP self Sunday night, missing 18 of 23 shot attempts, including thirteen bricks from beyond the arc (setting a dubious NBA Finals record along the way.)
Curry says no one should expect him to keep misfiring like this as the championship series shifts to Cleveland for the Games 3 and 4.
(It’s worth mentioning that Curry has only connected on 36 percent of his field goal attempts—and just 27 percent on three-pointers—since his terrifying fall against the Houston Rockets in Game 4 the Western Conference Finals.)
Steph also refused to give credit to Cavs guard and defensive irritant Matthew Dellavedova, claiming that Delly did “nothing really” to slow him down in the Golden State Warriors’ 95-93 loss.
NERD NOTES: Steph Curry when guarded by Matthew Dellavedova in Game 2: 0 Pts, 0-8 FG, 0-5 3-pt FG, 4 TO pic.twitter.com/pHMlJgcwGl
— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) June 8, 2015
LeBron on Dellavedova: "He was spectacular defensively. … He did a great job trying to make it tough on Steph." pic.twitter.com/kfeFUj964m
— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) June 8, 2015
Per USA Today:
Curry not only misfired on 18 of his 23 shots, not only had more turnovers (six) than he did assists (five) and not only saw his Warriors lose at home for just the fourth time in 51 tries since the start of the regular season, but he breathed life into a Cavaliers team that clearly believes it can pull this undermanned upset off. The unrelenting Australian who was forced into action because of Kyrie Irving’s knee injury, Matthew Dellavedova, certainly deserved credit for the defensive job he did on the MVP.
Curry, who had been much more himself in the Warriors’ Game 1 in (26 points, eight assists), was quick to caution anyone who thinks this anything but an aberration. […] “Shots I normally make, I knew as soon as they left my hand that they were off,” said Curry, who finished with 19 points. “That doesn’t usually happen. I mean, mechanically, I don’t know if there is an explanation for it. Just didn’t have a rhythm and didn’t find one the whole game.”
Then came the question about the part Dellavedova played in it all, and the competitive side of Curry that is so often overlooked came out in all its candor. […] “(Dellavedova did) nothing really, just besides playing their game plan and playing defense like every pro is supposed to,” he said. “But I doubt this will happen again, with the adjustments I’ll make once I look at the film. And like I said, one game is not going to make me stop shooting or alter my confidence at all.”
