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Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were among the Warriors who kicked it up a notch in the second half of Game 7 in Sacramento.
Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle
SACRAMENTO — Dynasties die hard. Dynasties built around the greatest shooter of all time are particularly hard to extinguish.
In the most stressful first-round playoff game they’ve ever played, theGolden State WarriorsrodeStephen Curry’s 50-point performance in Game 7 to close out the talented Sacramento Kings,winning 120-100in front of a once-hostile Golden 1 Center crowd that was silenced by greatness. In the second half, Championship DNA became a very real thing.
“When we got out there, our experience took over,” said Curry, who scored more points than any player ever has in a Game 7.
“We know what we’re made of,” Warriors forwardDraymond Greensaid. “We know what it takes to win in these types of environments in these situations. And we leaned into it.”
“Sounds like championship DNA to me,” Golden State guardKlay Thompsonsaid, shaking his head in amazement at the box score.
Those three core players heard Malik Monk call them old. They knew Kings head coach Mike Brown said he wanted to “run, run, run, run, run, run, run.” The reigning champions listened to the pundits say that it was the Memphis Grizzlies’ time, the Kings’ time.
Not yet.
“Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast,” Green said.
Until further notice, this is still the Warriors Invitational, to borrow Green’s amusingly cocky term. The Warriors now face the Lakers in a second-round matchup that stars proud aging lions and makes the NBA and its broadcasting partners swoon with delight. The Warriors will have homecourt advantage against the play-in Lakers in the series that starts Tuesday night.
Steph vs. LeBron, for the first time since the 2018 Finals. Lakers vs. Warriors in the postseason for the first time in more than 30 years. (That play-in game in 2021 doesn’t count.) A matchup featuring the two most popular players on the planet.
“This,” Green said, “is going to be epic.”
The Warriors had been erratic all season, sneaking into the playoffs as a sixth seed and without homecourt advantage in the first round. They brought with them their terrible road record, their slipshod defense, questions about their age and their future. After they seemed to find something in Game 5, all the concerns about their ability resurfaced after their atrocious Game 6 performance.
A first-round loss could have been a recipe for big changes for the franchise and perhaps the end of the dynasty’s era. Instead, operating on about 36 hours of rest, the Warriors came out and flipped on that DNA switch. Finally, their ace card — all that experience — was played.
“Game 7’s are difficult, everybody’s nervous,” Warriors head coachSteve Kerrsaid. “So there’s a need to have experience in Game 7’s. Our core guys have that.”
Kerr could see it in his team’s ability to take the game possession by possession. Trailing by two at the half, the Warriors came out and methodically, systematically took apart the Kings.Kevon Looneyhad 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass, in the third quarter alone. Thompson ignored his poor shooting night to elevate his defense. Andrew Wiggins found a way to get to the line.
And Curry was spectacular. He scored 30 second-half points. He took 38 shots and had only one turnover. He had a game for the ages — Thompson called it “the Steph Curry game.” Kerr’s word for the performance was “sublime.”
“Game 7’s are rare situations,” Green said. “And rare players do rare things.”
At one point, as the seconds were ticking away, Curry pretended to push the giant button that lights the beam. There was no beam-lighting Sunday. Instead, Curry lit up all of Sacramento.
Afterward, the Warriors only had glowing things to say about the Kings and their young star De’Aaron Fox. They know how talented this team is. They know how good their coach is. They know the Kings will stand in their way in the future.
“We’ve been in a lot of playoff series and, if I’m honest, you leave with less respect for a lot of guys,” Green said. “There are some you gain respect for. Fox is one of those guys.”
年轻的国王有一个近距离看可汗pion. They received a tutorial in how a champion operates.
“Not thinking about the outcomes, just thinking about the process and repeating and repeating and repeating,” Kerr said. “Staying locked in, staying focused.
“Our guys have learned to do that through a decade of these types of games. The energy that it takes to fight off challengers year after year, to have to prepare to win big games and doing it over and over. There’s a reason these guys are Hall of Famers. Champions. They’ve done this for a decade and it’s incredible to watch.”
Game 7 was another incredible moment in a run laden with them. Those moments are all stored away.
“You can always go into the memory bank for how you feel in these types of environments,” Curry said.
“We know who we are.”
Who are they? The reigning champions.
Still.
Reach Ann Killion: akillion@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @annkillion
