Getty Steph Curry celebrates a play in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A game that started with some of the loudest boos that Steph Curry has heard this season ended with MVP chants from that same once-hostile crowd.
The Golden State Warriors star led his team to Cleveland, taking on the Cavaliers and a home crowd still stinging over three defeats in the NBA Finals over the last seven years. While Curry and fellow title-run veteran Draymond Green drew vociferous boos to start the game, the two-time MVP had them chanting in his favor before the contest was over.
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Curry Leads Warriors to Big Comeback, Earns ‘MVP’ Chants
Facing a 13-point deficit early in the fourth quarter, Curry took over the game in the final frame. He scored 20 fourth-quarter points en route to 40 overall and Golden State’s defense held the Cavaliers to just eight points or the quarter. In the final moments of Golden State’s 104-89 victory, some in the crowd started to chant “MVP! MVP!” toward Curry.
Cavaliers go with the Succession theme song before Warriors’ starting lineup intros in Cleveland. Loud boos for Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Probably the loudest they get in the league.
A complete meltdown by this undermanned Cavs team down the stretch. Warriors outscore Cleveland 33-7 so far in the 4th — erase a 13 point deficit.
MVP chants for Steph have started again.
After the game, Curry said the atmosphere reminded him of the team’s NBA Finals run, when Warriors fans traveled well and often took over opposing arenas.
“I mean I appreciate it, but I don’t think about it too much,” Curry said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It is very reminiscent of like 2014-2018 when we had a lot of support and a big following showing up to road games and all of that. So we wanna feed off of that and give them something to cheer about throughout the game, or else they’re coming out and it’s just a bunch of Warrior mannequins just sitting down just watching, so you want to give them something to actually get excited about.”
It was now the second time that Curry earned “MVP” chants from a road crowd on this road trip. Earlier in the week, some fans in Brooklyn shared their appreciation of Curry.
Steph getting MVP chants in Brooklyn
Curry’s Amazing Season
It’s not just the fans in Brooklyn and Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse who are recognizing Curry’s MVP-caliber season. His 40-point game against the Cavaliers brought his season average up to a league-best 29.5 points per game, and he has been hitting three-pointers at an unmatched pace.
The record for most 3s made in a season is 402, (Curry 2015-16)
Curry is currently on pace for 464
The performance against Cleveland earned Curry some big praise from Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who lauded the 33-year-old’s unmatched contributions on offense.
“He’s one of the greatest players in the history of the game,” Kerr said, via ESPN. “And he’s the greatest 3-point shooter of all time. And the way he moves off the ball, he’s so strong and fluid and he understands the game on and off the ball. And he’s fearless. So you throw all that together — and he’s always capable of catching fire like that. As amazing as it was, it didn’t shock me because this is what he does.”
Warriors teammate Juan Toscano-Anderson reached into a different sport to draw a comparison, saying Curry reminds him of one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.
“It’s like you’re getting into a street fight and you’ve got Mike Tyson on your side,” Toscano-Anderson said, via ESPN. “Of course you’re going to have all the confidence in the world because you know Mike Tyson is knocking people out. When you’ve got the best basketball player in the world, and I said this before the season started, I think Steph Curry is the best basketball player in the world, so when you’ve got him on your team, that gives you all the confidence.”
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