Technically, the Golden State Warriors did not seal Friday night’s 108-95 elimination of the Memphis Grizzlies solely because of Stephen Curry’s 62-foot, three-quarters-of-the-court, holy-shit-utterance-inspiring, buzzer-beating miracle heave as time expired in the third quarter. But Warriors fans all over the Bay knew the game was won at that moment, and the celebrations began that these Warriors would be fulfilling their destiny and advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1976.
For context, Memphis was actually mounting a furious comeback at the moment. Golden State had a comfortable 58-49 lead at halftime, but then did not score a single point for a nearly five-minute stretch of the third quarter. The gritty Grizzlies came within 1 when Memphis forward Jeff Green hit a jump shot with 3:20 left in the third, and they had the ball after Draymond Green missed a 3-pointer. Jeff Green was set to bring Memphis to within 2 points with 1.9 seconds left in the period, but Andre Iguodala blocked his shot, Curry scooped up the ball and calmly launched it almost the whole length of the court.
Nothing but net. Nothing but net from 62 goddamned motherfucking feet away from the basket! It is the longest shot that Curry has ever made in an NBA game, beating his previous-longest of 43 feet. (Though die-hard Dubs fans know that he does this all the time in his pre-game warmup routine). Let’s enjoy the historic shot from a reverse angle.
Memphis knew they were fucked, and would not challenge for the remainder of the game. Curry would finish with 32 points and 10 assists, while junior Splash Brother Klay Thompson scored 20 and Draymond Green contributed a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Most of you are too young to remember the last time the Warriors made the Western Conference Finals (so am I, according the age listed on my OKCupid profile!). So this is all new — the rare air the third round of the NBA playoffs, the privilege of watching the Clippers and Rockets fight for the right to face us, the smug swagga that comes with being the favorites to win the NBA title. These Golden State Warriors are backing that shit up with epic performances night in and night out of these playoffs.
We look forward to watching them back that shit up with another epic performance in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals (oh my god I just typed that!) Tuesday night at 6 p.m. (ESPN) at Roaracle Arena against an opponent to be determined. Tickets are on sale now if you have an extra $209-$10,000 laying around.