It’s bad enough when bad stuff happens. But when that bad stuff reminds you of other bad stuff, well, that’s extra bad.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry watched fellow superstar LeBron James lead his Lakers past Curry’s squad on Wednesday night in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, and the deciding shot — a 3-pointer by LeBron James in front of Curry — reminded Curry of the 2016 NBA Finals, when the Warriors famously relinquished a 3-1 series lead.
First, here’s James’ shot from Wednesday night, leading to a 103-100 victory for Los Angeles.
As you can see, that’s Curry guarding James, who made an incredible shot. It reminded Curry of the 2016 finals, when former Cavaliers guard — and James’ former teammate with the Cavs — Kyrie Irving hit the series’ deciding 3-point shot over Curry.
Yikes. You can feel the emotion from Curry. That Irving shot still stings, unsurprisingly. That epic finals collapse is a failure Curry has to live with. He said he wasn’t as close to James as he was to Irving, so it didn’t hurt as much. I’ll note that Curry didn’t put his hand up in James’ face, almost like he didn’t want to get close up, as he did with Irving’s iconic shot.
Luckily for Curry, however, he has another opportunity after James’ shot Wednesday, unlike his experience in 2016.
The Warriors will face the Grizzlies in a win-or-go-home scenario on Friday night. It will be a mighty test, especially with Golden State beating Memphis to close the regular season (the Grizzlies will be ready), and not to mention the emotional let-down for the Warriors after an epic loss in LA.
Curry will no-doubt try to make some happier memories. All NBA fans will remember Wednesday’s Warriors vs. Lakers game though. It was an instant classic, and it’s never a surprise when Curry and the Warriors are involved in one of those, win or lose.
(Photo credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports)
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