BOSTON — The first time Stephen Curry went against a Brad Stevens defense was well before he was a two-time MVP and international superstar. It was back in February 2009, when Stevens was the 32-year-old coach of Butler and Curry was a junior for Davidson, having made his name the previous year in a dazzling tournament run to the Elite Eight.
On that day, Stevens had guard Ronald Nored in Curry’s face at every turn, and Curry — nursing a troublesome ankle — went just 6-for-23 from the field and 2-for-13 from the 3-point line.
Four years later, both were in the NBA, and Stevens, no matter the roster of the Celtics that he has been coaching, has taken the same approach with Curry. Grab him. Clutch him. Be physical. He’s had his guards do the same with Klay Thompson, the Warriors’ other elite guard, too.
MORE: Warriors vs. Celtics box score | Full NBA scoreboard
That was critical to Thursday’s impressive defensive performance by the Celtics, which saw Boston come back from a 17-point deficit and walk out of TD Garden with a 92-88 win. Curry was just 3-for-14 from the field and 2-for-9 from the 3-point line. Thompson was not much better, going 5-for-18 and 3-for-11.
After the game, Curry chalked up his poor shooting to, "just one of those nights."
"I missed shots," Curry said. "I got in foul trouble early in the second half, that kind of took me out of rhythm. It was one of those nights when we had control of the game, despite of how bad we were shooting, but just couldn’t sustain ourselves defensively when they made a couple runs."
But, going back to their meeting at Davidson, Curry very often has "one of those nights" when he’s going up against Stevens teams. Just look at how he and Thompson have fared against Boston since Stevens took over as coach in 2013.
| "Splash Brothers" Stats | FG % | 3PT % | Points/game |
| Curry vs Boston | 44.6 | 42.3 | 24.8 |
| Curry vs rest of NBA | 48.4 | 43.4 | 25.8 |
| Thompson vs Boston | 45.5 | 30.8 | 22.0 |
| Thompson vs rest of NBA | 46.2 | 42.5 | 21.1 |
It’s a small sample size, of course. Thompson has played just seven games against the Celtics since Stevens took over, and Curry has played eight.
But here’s what a scout at last night’s game had to say about the Celtics’ defense: "Stevens wants his guys to be physical on the perimeter, but I think this group does it better than any of the ones he’s had in the past, even with Avery Bradley gone and Kyrie Irving in. They fight through screens and that bothers Thompson. They can switch a lot. Jaylen Brown has the size to play that way and great instincts. We all know what Marcus Smart does defensively. I thought Semi Ojeleye was really good defensively against [Thompson and Curry], and he does not get much credit.
"I have not seen many teams — maybe San Antonio when they’re healthy — give those guys trouble the way that Stevens’ teams have over the years."
Curry, of course, created some waves after the game when he said it was "very, very likely" that the Warriors would play the Celtics in June. There’s a long way between now and then, and Boston will still have to get through Cleveland in May before they can play in June.
But if, indeed, the Warriors see the Celtics again in the spring, Curry will have to figure out how to crack his most long-standing puzzle: Stevens’ defense.