Warriors stars Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry both missed potential game-tying 3-pointers in the final seconds of Game 4, a 112-108 loss to the Rockets on Monday night. While Durant has carried Golden State throughout this playoff run, Curry has struggled to find consistency with his shot, and that will only turn up the heat on the two-time MVP heading into Game 5.
"Two solid looks considering the situation down three with a chance to tie it up," Curry said. "Just didn't go our way, but I liked the fight that we had."
Steph and KD BOTH missed game-tying shots in the closing seconds of the game 😳 pic.twitter.com/eoLM0Y4ky6
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 7, 2019
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Curry is one of the select players in the NBA who can score 30 points but still be criticized, as he shot just 4-of-14 from 3-point range in Game 4, dropping him to 12-of-46 (26.0 percent) from beyond the arc for the series.
"The last 48 hours has been pretty funny, hearing all the noise and chatter about how I've been playing this series," Curry said in his postgame press conference. "I take it all in stride and understand what I'm capable of and doing it within the context of how we play as a team. I know I can play even better."
If that's spoken like a playoff veteran, then that's because Game 4 was Curry's 100th career postseason game. Curry is experienced enough to know he can quiet that noise by making a few more 3-pointers. It's that simple.
The numbers back up that the Warriors often go with Curry's 3-point percentage, but they still have close to a 50-50 chance when he's off. The Warriors are 12-15 in playoff games when Curry shoots 30 percent or less from 3-point range. (Curry has yet to shoot 30 percent from 3-point range in a single game in the Houston series.)
To take that another step, Golden State is 6-7 when Curry shoots less than 30 percent from 3-point range with 10 or more attempts. Monday night, of course, was his third night like that in this series against the Rockets. Curry has a total plus/minus rating of minus-5.4 in those games, too.
Knowing that, it's not a surprise the series is tied, but it's also the best-case scenario for Houston. The Rockets need Curry to be off in order to have a chance to win.
The odds go up considerably if Curry knocks down one or two more 3-pointers. Golden State is 18-6 when he shoots between 30-40 percent from 3-point range. Curry has an average plus/minus of plus-10.2 in those games.
The fact Curry has hit more than 40 percent from 3-point range in 49 playoff games is amazing on its own. The Warriors are 39-10 in those games and 22-7 when he shoots better than 40 percent with 10 or more attempts. Curry has an average plus/minus rating of plus-12.9 there.
| Curry 3-point percentage | Warriors playoff record (100 total games) |
| Less than 30 percent | 12-15 |
| Between 30-40 percent | 18-6 |
| Greater than 40 percent | 39-10 |
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Houston has avoided those big nights so far, and Curry recognizes what the Rockets are doing defensively.
"They do a lot of switching, and they know where shooters are," Curry said. "Tonight, probably 75 percent of our shots were decent looks. It's just a make-or-miss situation."
As for the narrative about Curry's postseason failures? It's overdone.
It's not worth comparing Curry to LeBron James, who faces an entirely different level of criticism. If you want to compare it to James Harden, though, then that's fine. Harden shot 19-of-78 (24.3 percent) from 3-point range against Golden State in the playoffs last season, and he has improved to 18-of-53 (33.9 percent) this year. Of course, Curry already owns three championship rings while Harden is searching for his first title, which makes the Curry chatter sound even more ridiculous.
Keep in mind Curry helped the Warriors close out Houston by hitting 12-of-26 (46.1 percent) from 3-point range in the final two games last season. He can go off like that at any time, and if he's hitting close to 50 percent for the rest of the series, Golden State will advance to the Western Conference finals for the fifth consecutive season.
In a make-or-miss series, Curry insists the Warriors are ready to take the next shot.
"We love it," Curry said. "I mean, obviously we would love to be up 3-0 or 3-1 or have the series over, but there's no panic. We understand the task at hand."
