The NBA’s two-time MVP isn’t shying away from his internal disappointment in the the way he played during the Golden State Warriors’ NBA Finals loss to Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I take it on the chin because I know I didn’t play my best,” Warriors guard Steph Curry said, via Ethan Strauss of ESPN. “And that’s something that I’ll have to deal with. That’s my own expectation and my own self-assessment. I don’t need anybody else to tell me that.”
Over seven Finals games, Curry—who led the NBA at 30.1 points per game in the regular season—managed to average only 22.6. He produced four games under 20 points, including Sunday’s Game 7 home loss.
While Curry set a new NBA Finals record with 32 made threes, he connected on just 40.3 percent of his total field goals—while averaging only four free throws per game and giving the ball away 30 times. In Game 7, Curry connected on 6-of-19 shots, including 4-for-14 from three, with four turnovers and two assists.
His chance to tie the game with under a minute left clanked off the side of the rim after an ugly possession:
This defensive performance by Kevin Love on Steph Curry was as important as any play in the game pic.twitter.com/HCydWHyt5Q
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) June 20, 2016
The NBA’s unanimous MVP was thoroughly outplayed by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
Curry wouldn’t blame injuries for his failures, but he also admitted he wasn’t fully healthy throughout the series.
“I was out there on the floor and thought that I could do what I needed to do to be effective in games,” Curry said. “I wasn’t 100 percent, no, but it doesn’t matter. Coming back from a knee injury, I was able to play. I was able to give it what I had, and it wasn’t enough.”
Curry missed 38 shots over the final three games of the series, all Cavaliers wins. He also had 12 turnovers and only seven assists during the same stretch.
Not having Curry at his MVP best was a deathblow to the Warriors, especially once James began his historic stretch of play in Game 5.
“I know I’ll be better,” Curry said.
