Stephen Curry had 34 points and guided the Golden State Warriors to their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons with a 103-90 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Curry once again showed his excellence at TD Garden, where he had 31 and 43 points in the first two road games of this final.
Curry also had seven rebounds and seven assists, helping the Warriors win this Finals in six games.
“We found a way to complete the job,” Curry said. We built this team for 10-11 years. It means a lot to be on this podium celebrating. »
The Californian team had also been crowned NBA champions in 2015, 2017 and 2018. They lost in the finals in 2016 and 2019.
“The championships have all been unique, all have been special,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. This title was perhaps the most improbable. It takes a team effort to accomplish that and we have a very good group. »
Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala are the only Warriors players to have appeared in all four games.
Curry was able to add the Bill Russell Trophy to his collection as he was voted the Finals Most Valuable Player.
“I finally got my hands on this trophy,” Curry said. It is special. Everyone had an impact in this process. »
Thompson and Green, who added 12 assists, both had 12 points for the Warriors. Canadian Andrew Wiggins contributed offensively with 18 points and substitute Jordan Poole finished the game with 15 points.
Jaylen Brown was the most efficient on offense for the Celtics, collecting 34 points and seven rebounds. He was backed up by veteran Al Horford, who posted a strong performance of 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Boston’s other offensive star, Jayson Tatum, struggled in Game 6, contributing just 13 points and committing five turnovers. He became the first player in NBA history to total 100 turnovers in a playoff run.
The Warriors almost from start to finish
The Celtics started the game strong, as one would expect from a team in the Finals facing elimination.
Brown fired a three-point field goal and 28 seconds later, Tatum capped a 10-point drive by also hitting a shot from beyond the arch to give the Celtics a 12-2 lead.
The Warriors, however, have seen others over the years and they have recovered calmly. They approached quietly before finishing the first quarter with a 27-22 lead, following an 11-point streak.
The visitors kept their foot on the accelerator early in the second quarter. Poole had two three-pointers and Wiggins put the finishing touch on a dunk that extended the lead to 37-22.
The Warriors’ 21-point streak was the longest in the NBA Finals in the last 50 years.
“We weren’t able to break their streaks,” Celtics center Robert Williams III admitted. We have made mistakes. They played harder and they won tonight. »
The home side closed the gap to eight points thanks to Williams’ dunk, but Steve Kerr’s men restarted the machine to dominate the Celtics 15-8 in the last six minutes to return to the locker room with a 54- 39.
It was with three-point shots that the Warriors found a way to distance themselves from their opponents in the third quarter. They had six, three of which came from Curry’s right hand.
It was also the cause of the Celtics’ comeback in the third quarter. The Warriors missed four shots from the perimeter and the Boston squad was able to finish the final six minutes with a 16-4 streak.
Leading 76-66 early in the final quarter, the Warriors wanted to tighten up the game defensively and they held a lead of more than 10 points for the majority of the last 12 minutes to confirm their title.