Stephen Curry called on the Golden State Warriors to build on the momentum of their remarkable comeback win over Oklahoma City as they prepared to face LeBron James and Cleveland in the opening game of the NBA Finals to be played yesterday.
The Warriors begin the defense of their NBA crown at the Oracle Arena in a dream repeat of last year’s finals, which saw Golden State win the title against an injury-hit Cavaliers team.
The Cavaliers arrived in California firing on all cylinders, with their big three of James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love all fit and ready as they bid to avenge last year’s 4-2 series defeat.
The Warriors arrived in the finals after a Houdini act against the Thunder in the Western Conference finals, coming back from 3-1 down to complete a stunning 4-3 win on Monday.
Two-time NBA MVP Curry told reporters on Wednesday that the Warriors were brimming with belief after their win over the Thunder and urged the Dubs to unleash the same sort of hunger against the Cavs.
“We have to bring that same mentality that got us out of the hole 3-1 to game one with the score 0-0, and if we can do that and play with that same hunger and that same fire as if we’re playing in an elimination game, I really, really like our chances, but that’s going to be the challenge for us to, against a different team with a different game plan,” Curry said.
Curry led the scoring for the Warriors with 36 points in Monday’s game seven win over the Thunder, with coach Steve Kerr saying that his star player is approaching his best after a knee injury earlier in post-season.
Kerr on Wednesday said he believed Curry’s smiling, laid-back demeanor masked a ferocious competitive spirit that had been pricked by perceived digs about his achievements.
“Steph is extremely competitive in a very humble way. He doesn’t have to say anything,” Kerr said. “He does his talking through his play, basically, but he definitely is motivated by things that people say about him or things that he reads or anything like that.”
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