Steph Curry scored 34 factors and his Golden State Warriors captured their fourth NBA title in eight seasons Thursday night time, defeating the Boston Celtics, 103-90, on the famed parquet flooring.
The very best-of-seven NBA Last sequence led to six video games, with the Warriors successful the ultimate three after falling behind, 2-1.
The San Francisco-based membership has now gained seven NBA championships in franchise historical past, with the Larry O’Brien Trophy most not too long ago making its option to Northern California in 2015, 2017 and 2018 on this latest run.
Curry took residence the Invoice Russell NBA Finals MVP Award, one of many few trophies that had been absent from his mantle.
“You know the way lengthy the highway is to get again right here due to how arduous it’s to win on this stage,” Curry mentioned on the post-game platform.
“Boston is a superb group, each (playoff) group we performed within the West is a superb group,” he mentioned. “However we discovered a option to simply get it executed.”
The Warriors gained the primary of those 4 titles seven years in the past Thursday, on June 16, 2015, as fresh-faced stars Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Inexperienced, together with first-year coach Steve Kerr, broke a 40-year title drought for Golden State.
Veteran backup Andre Iguodala was with the membership for the three earlier titles, earlier than spending two years with the Miami Warmth after which returning to Golden State this season.
Kerr, a former teammate of all-time NBA nice Michael Jordan, now has 9 championship rings, 5 as a participant and 4 as a coach.
“This could be essentially the most unlikely of all,” Kerr mentioned. “However I’ve simply been blessed. I dangle round superstars. You hand round superstars good issues occur.”
The franchise, which started because the Philadelphia Warriors, gained the primary Basketball Affiliation of America — a forerunner to the NBA — title in 1947 earlier than capturing the crown once more in 1956.
After the membership moved to California — however lengthy earlier than the “Splash Brothers,” Curry and Thompson, arrived on the scene — Golden State’s solely different title got here in 1975.
Earlier than Thursday night time, the Warriors have been tied with Jordan’s Chicago Bulls because the group with the third most titles in NBA historical past. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers (previously from Minneapolis) every have 17 titles.
This newest Golden State title comes after a string of disappointing, injury-marred seasons for the proud franchise.
Curry missed just about all the 2019-20 marketing campaign with a damaged hand, whereas Thompson was sidelined for the whole lot of 2019-20 and 2020-21 with career-threatening knee and Achilles accidents.
Golden State’s newest crown can also be the franchise’s first since transferring throughout the Bay Bridge from Oakland’s Oracle Area to the gleaming new Chase Heart, 16 miles away in San Francisco.
