OAKLAND, Calif. — One play. One fall. One bad break.
That’s all it takes to shift a series and derail a dream season.
Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors found out how fragile a championship chase can be in their Game 4 loss at Houston when the NBA MVP took a scary spill that nearly gave a storybook season a frightening twist.
Instead, the moment just serves as a reminder to both teams: nothing is over till it’s over.
The Warriors will get another chance to close out the Rockets on Wednesday night at home and advance to the franchise’s first NBA Finals in 40 years. Golden State, which leads the Western Conference finals 3-1, is eager to end the series now and avoid more opportunities for something strange to happen.
“We just don’t want to come back to Houston,” Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “It’s not going to be easy. They are here for a reason. We have to come and play with more intensity and play together and we’ll win the game.”
Eight months of work almost came crashing down for the Warriors when Curry jumped in the air as Trevor Ariza started to shoot a layup midway through the second quarter Monday night. Ariza saw him and stopped abruptly, causing Curry to tumble over him.
Curry’s head hit the court hard and his arms bent awkwardly. He remained on the floor for several minutes, walked to the locker room looking stunned and returned in the second half after the team said he passed the league-mandated concussion tests.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Curry said.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday, a travel day for both teams, that Curry is doing just fine — other than the bruise on his head — and should be ready to go for Game 5.
In a different way, the Rockets can relate to losing a key player in a flash.
Houston hardly seems afraid of the moment. The Rockets became just the ninth team to rally from 3-1 down when they stunned the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round, and they believe that experience has prepared them for an even tougher task ahead.
“Our season comes down to winning one road game,” McHale said. “That’s not going to be anything new.”
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