Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Game 4 vs. Blazers

2. Curry’s Performance Was Historic

With Curry sidelined over the last two weeks and LeBron James dismantling the opposition, it was easy to construct arguments about Curry being the best player in the league and LeBron being its “most valuable” in relation to where his team would be without him.

But before getting wrapped up in any convoluted arguments about what the MVP Award is really all about, just go back and watch Game 4. Stephen Curry is the undisputed 2015-16 NBA MVP.

Before he entered supernova mode late in the game, his arrival midway through the first quarter helped Golden State turn a 16-2 deficit into a 16-10 run to close the period. But most people figured Curry would be rusty after being sidelined for 15 days with a knee sprain, and for the most part, he was.

Through the first three quarters, Curry had only 13 points and missed all nine of his three-point attempts.

With the game on the line, however, the league MVP had one of the most improbably historic overtime performances in NBA history.

In the fourth quarter and overtime, Curry tallied 27 of his game-high 40 points, knocking down five of his seven three-point attempts. In overtime alone, he scored 17 of his team’s 21 points in just five minutes, setting an NBA record for most points scored in an overtime period — regular season or playoffs.

In doing so, he completely hurdled over any questions of fatigue and absolutely devastated a Moda Center crowd that, for most of Game 4, believed its team might actually win.

The fact that he did all of this, while playing 12 more minutes than he was supposed to, after missing two weeks with a knee sprain, against a roaring away crowd, while struggling to shake the rust off, is absolutely remarkable.

Curry may have missed his running bank shot that would’ve given the Dubs the win as time expired in the fourth quarter, but he made sure to take that anger out on Portland in the extra period, scoring Golden State’s first 10 points in overtime.

He struggled to get his perimeter touch going early, but he still wound up shooting better from long range (5-for-16) than Damian Lillard did (5-for-18).

He was extraordinarily efficient inside the three-point line (11-for-16), joined Nick Van Exel as the only other player in the last 30 years to drop 40 points in a playoff game while coming off the bench, and he did that while playing 11 fewer minutes.

Oh, and he also chipped in nine rebounds, eight assists and a team-high +21 for good measure.

In terms of heroic exploits, it was a playoff performance reminiscent of Michael Jordan‘s Flu Game or LeBron James’ 29 straight points game against the Detroit Pistons on the road.

Curry scored more points in overtime (17) than the entire Trail Blazers team (14). He even scored more points than the Raptors and Heat combined from their overtime game Monday night (15).

It was basically a non-stop parade of memorable moments. He let Blazers fans everywhere know it wasn’t Damian Lillard Time anymore:

He had Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen trying to comprehend the meaning of life in the middle of a playoff game:

He turned Shaun Livingston into a folk hero for being ejected.

He had Charles Barkley speechless on Inside The NBA.

He had grown men tickling each other across the Moda Center floor in jubilation:

There are few words that can properly articulate the kind of night Stephen Curry had, but one thing is for certain: He cemented his legacy with one of the all-time great playoff performances that let everyone know he’s BACK.

Next: No. 1