Tag: Finals

Warriors Rewind: Steph Curry drops 43 points in Game 4 of 2022 NBA Finals vs. Celtics

Two years ago, Steph Curry dropped 43 points against the Celtics in Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Finals.

Monday marked the special anniversary of a memorable performance from the Golden State Warriors future Hall of Fame point guard. While the Boston Celtics are back in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, just two years ago, the same Celtics met the Warriors in the 2022 edition of the NBA Finals.

During Game 4 of the 2022 Finals, Steph Curry put together one of his best performances in the Finals of all time. Curry torched the Celtics for 43 points on 14-of-26 shooting from the field. Curry caught fire from deep, drilling seven 3-pointers. Curry added 10 rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes during the Warriors 107-97 win.

Following their win in Boston in Game 4 to tie the series at 2-2, the Warriors went on to win the next two games to secure the NBA championship in six games. Curry’s performance in Game 4 helped solidify him as the clear-cut pick for NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

Watch highlights from Game 4 via YouTube:

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BYU suddenly clinging to bowl eligibility hopes

Nobody saw this coming in Provo this fall…

After beating Baylor in overtime on the second Saturday of September, [autotag]BYU[/autotag] was 2-0 and knocking on the door of the top 10 in both the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and AP Poll.  Things since then haven’t gone according to plan for the Cougars, however.

BYU was routed the following week at Oregon before rebounding with wins over Wyoming and Utah State to close September.

The Cougars haven’t won since.

Notre Dame largely controlled the Shamrock Series contest against BYU before letting them back in the game late before holding on for a 28-20 victory.  Since then Arkansas (52-35) and Liberty (41-14) both put whoopings on the Cougars.

BYU closed their October to-forget with another loss, this one a 27-24 defeat at the hands of East Carolina as they allowed over six yards per carry in their latest loss that puts them at 4-5 overall.

Notre Dame fans can relate to BYU supporters as some outlets (I’m looking at you, USA TODAY Sports College Football Preview) had the Cougars in the preseason top 10 but with just three games to play a bowl game is far from a sure thing.

BYU travels to Boise State next week before finally reaching their bye week.  They close the year with games against Utah Tech (yes, that’s a real program) and Stanford.  The Cougars will have to go 2-1 over their last three to become bowl-eligible, something few if any saw coming this preseason.

Not that Notre Dame is in a position to compare their best wins to others for anything of real significance this season, but that victory over a ranked opponent at the start of the month looks more and more like another close call against a mediocre foe with each passing week.

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NBA stars with the best winning percentages in the Finals

We list the Top 35 stars with the best winning percentage in the NBA Finals.

While his play and success in the NBA Finals are basically unmatched, Michael Jordan is not the star with the best winning percentage in championship series. He’s not really that close either.

For this exercise, we looked up NBA All-Stars with at least two Finals played to determine who boasts the best winning record. A bunch of role players who made the All-Star Game at some point in their careers came ahead of MJ.

As always, you can check the full list below.

Photos: NBA legends receiving their Finals MVP trophies

The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award is one of the most prestigious in the sport of basketball. As such, when a player receives the distinction, it’s a huge honor, one that takes their legacy to another level.

After watching Stephen Curry take home the first Finals MVP award of his career we decided to put together a gallery showing NBA legends throughout the years receiving their Finals MVP trophies.

Check it out below.

NBA Finals: Locker room celebrations through the years

Champagne (usually Moët & Chandon), goggles and cigars – all things that you can usually spot in a typical locker-room celebration following the crowning of a new NBA champion.

With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors locking up their 7th title as a franchise on Thursday, we decided to put together a gallery of every locker-room celebration we could find.

We even went as far back as the early 1960s for Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers celebrations after winning championships.

Check it out below.

The youngest players to win an NBA title

Often times, NBA teams with championship expectations litter their rotations and starting lineups with veteran pieces who have playoff experience, as those are the types of players who know what it takes to succeed in the postseason.

There are, of course, exceptions to that rule.

Some young players in the Association figure things out quickly and manage to play some of their best basketball when the stakes get higher come playoff time.

Below, we present the youngest players in league history to win an NBA title. Some had more focal roles than others, but even so, an impressive accomplishment for the following guys.

The youngest players in NBA Finals history

Young players typically don’t get minutes in the playoffs, but sometimes, they earn them, even on a stage as grand as the NBA Finals. Other times, young players get minutes in garbage time.

That was the case this year with Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, as both young Golden State Warriors players got playing time in the series against the Boston Celtics, making them the third- and fourth-youngest players in NBA Finals history.

The ranking is led by Darko Milicic and is mostly full of guys with minor roles in the Finals like Milicic, Kuminga and Moody (so far), but you also have some guys who had major roles, like Tony Parker in 2003, Tyler Herro in 2020 and, memorably, Kobe Bryant in 2000.

There’s even a Finals MVP on the list.

The legendary Magic Johnson won that accolade in 1980 after averaging 21.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.7 steals in a six-game championship win for the Los Angeles Lakers, stats he put up… as a 20-year-old.

Sheesh.

Check out the full rankings below.

(The ages listed are for their first game in the NBA Finals).

The players with most playoffs games without reaching the Finals

With Al Horford finally getting himself off of the list recently, we decided to take a look at the other NBA players who have played in the most playoff games without reaching the Finals, a dubious distinction to hold indeed.

Led by Paul Millsap now with 130 career playoff games and no Finals appearances, this list features various all-time greats who simply had some bad luck in the postseason.

Others on this list include Steve Nash, Joe Johnson and Paul George.

Check out the full list below.