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Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James turned into a fan as his rival Stephen Curry bucked foul trouble to lift the Golden State Warriors to a massive win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, December 19.
James posted on X (formerly Twitter) a chef emoticon, referring to Curry’s monicker, with folded hands as appreciation to the Warriors’ superstar’s epic performance.
On the other hand, Curry’s suspended teammate Draymond Green, who wasn’t in the building and watching somewhere in the Bay area, posted: “GOAT (greatest of all time) activity tonight 30 Zzz.”
Curry’s high-arching 3-pointer that beat the shot clock buzzer with 12 seconds left in the overtime sealed the Warriors 132-126 comeback win.
Curry, nursing five fouls, scored a combined 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, to lead the Warriors past the Eastern Conference’s top team, for their third straight win.
“Nothing shocks me with Steph,” Steve Kerr told reporters after their character-building win. “I mean that shot was insane. The catch and shoot, the arc. But I fully expected it to go in and I think all of our fans did too. It was magical, I just can’t explain it. That’s just the kind of stuff he does.”
Warriors’ Magical Comeback
All signs point to an impending Warriors defeat after they lost their moxie rookie Brandin Podziemski (lower back strain) in the first half then Curry picked up his fifth foul with 6:07 left in the third quarter. More than a minute later, the Celtics built the game’s largest lead at 87-70.
Then the improbable comeback happened.
The Warriors bench, led by Chris Paul, slowly chipped away the Celtics lead to set up Curry’s heroics. Curry also hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 1:36 left in the regulation to send the game into overtime.
“That was probably the most grit and determination we’ve shown all year,” Curry told TNT’s sideline reporter Allie LaForce after their biggest win of the season.
Curry finished the game with 33 points on 11 of 21 shooting. He hit six 3-pointers after going 0 for 8 in their previous win over the Portland Trail Blazers which snapped his 268-game streak of sinking at least one.
“He never ceases to amaze us,” said Klay Thompson, who added 24 points.
Paul, who set up Curry’s dagger 3-pointer, wasn’t also surprised.
“He practiced that, getting shots off quick trigger,” Paul said nonchalantly.
Curry’s sensational performance pushed the Warriors’ record to 13-14 with a chance to go over .500 for the first time since their 6-2 start with back-to-back games against the Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards.
“It was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” said rookie Tracye Jackson-Davis of Curry’s dagger.
The rookie big man stepped up big with a key block on Jaylen Brown in overtime and logged his first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Brandin Podziemski Shares Encouraging Injury Update
Podziemski, who went from end-of-the-bench player to a starter, posted an encouraging message on X after his scary injury.
“I’ll be back dubnation!!! Wish I was out there tonight!!! My brothas picked me up!!! Big dub!!!! See you Friday!” Podziemski wrote on Twitter/X.
The 20-year-old rookie averaged 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals in his last two starts before the injury.
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