From Adjustments to Where it Ranks Among His Best NBA Finals Performances, Celtics, Warriors, Discuss Stephen Curry's 43-point Game 4 Masterpiece

Stephen Curry led the Warriors to a 107-97 Game 4 win that evens the series as the NBA Finals heads back to San Francisco.

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In Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Stephen Curry generated a game-high 43 points, including ten in crunch time when the score was within five points or fewer. 

He did so on 14/26 shooting, drilling seven of his 14 attempts from beyond the arc. Curry also grabbed ten rebounds and dished out four assists. He did all of that while withstanding the Celtics' efforts to wear him down on the defensive end.

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Klay Thompson labeled it the best game Curry's played in the NBA Finals. Draymond Green said he could tell by Curry's demeanor the past couple of days he was going to bring some extra fire to Game 4. 

When asked if he could feel that brewing leading up to Friday's matchup, Curry expressed the following.

"I felt like I just had to let everybody know that we were here tonight, and whether that's their crowd, their team, our team, whoever wants to see that energy and that fire, we feed off of that, and I think it helped us get settled into the game."

As for where this game ranks among Curry's best? That's not something he spends time and energy on. 

"I don't rank my performances, though; just win the game."

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Ime Udoka said of what Curry did against the NBA's top-ranked defense: "Some of those were some crazy shots that were highly-contested that he made. You look at the overall numbers, the attempts, getting those off is a number we don't like, the 14 attempts. He came out bombing early; he had nine in the first half. 

"But some of the threes he hit were highly contested, and you can't do anything about those. But when we did switch, it got some cross matches and guys on the rim, and went after him a little bit later, and they made some plays."

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Marcus Smart agreed with that sentiment: "We were there; he's a great player. He made shots. He made a lot of his shots where we were contesting from behind, we had somebody there, and he was making them. That's what he does. We obviously have to do a better job of limiting that, and we've got to make it even tougher for him. It is what it is, and we get another chance to do it again on Monday."

Jaylen Brown's outlook on the Game 4 exploits from Curry, the most lethal shooter of all time, was as follows. 

"We could've done our job better, but give credit to him; he's one of the best players in the world. He's been here before, and he had it rolling tonight. Big performance by him, but we've got to do a better job of containing, and it's tough, it's hard, but we never said it was supposed to be easy, so (we) just (have to) get ready for the next game."

While Al Horford conveyed: "He was great tonight. You have to give him his credit where credit is due. Just really tough and made plays for their team and put them in a position to win the game."

Further Reading

What Stood Out in Game 4 of NBA Finals: Warriors Show Championship Resolve in Series-Tying Win

Celtics Address Reasons Behind Their Offense Stagnating in Game 4 Loss to Warriors

[Film Room] In NBA Finals Game 3, Jaylen Brown Balanced Scoring and Facilitating, Showing How He Can Raise Celtics' Ceiling

Tony Parker Sizes Up the NBA Finals, Talks Ime Udoka and His Collaboration with MTN Dew LEGEND

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's Defensive Commitment Helps Enforce Celtics' Culture

Celtics Feed Off Home Crowd in Game 3 Win Over Warriors: 'They give us so much energy and so much juice'

The Anatomy of the Celtics' Fourth-Quarter Comeback in Game 1 of NBA Finals