Stephen Curry’s rainbow dagger stuns Celtics in vintage display of greatness

Steph Curry’s high-arcing three-point dagger reminds us he’s as great as ever.

The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics met in a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals on Tuesday night. So much has changed for both teams since Golden State’s six-game series victory to claim the franchise’s fourth championship, but there’s still one inconvertible truth in this matchup: Stephen Curry remains the best player on the floor.

The Warriors beat the Celtics, 132-126, in an overtime thriller that saw Golden State erase a huge second half deficit to earn the win. It’s the third straight win for the Warriors since Draymond Green has received his indefinite suspension.

Golden State roared back from 17 points down in the third quarter behind Curry’s shot-making brilliance. The two-time MVP finished with 33 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 shooting from three. Curry was spectacular down the stretch, and his rainbow dagger to put the game away with about 10 seconds left in overtime was the enduring shot of the night. Watch Curry at his best here:

This is vintage Steph in every way: relocating to three in a loose ball situation, getting off a lightning quick release against a closeout, and watching it swish through the net. The arc on that shot is just absolutely ridiculous: it looks like a trick shot that no one but Steph could make. Curry immediately went to his “put ‘em to sleep” celebration. It’s going to be a rough night for the Celtics.

Curry hit some incredible shots down the stretch, but he didn’t win this game alone. Golden State got important contributions down the stretch from rookie big man Trayce Jackson-Davis and young forward Jonathan Kuminga. Watch Jackson-Davis’ clutch block on Jaylen Brown here.

For as great as Curry was, it felt like the Celtics gave this game away. It was a rough night for Jayson Tatum, who finished with only 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting. Boston scored only five points in overtime, and watched so many point blank shots bounce off the rim. The Celtics’ history of crunch-time scoring woes will be relevant until this group finally overcomes them once and for all.

The Warriors needed that win so badly. Golden State improves to 13-14 overall with the victory. If the season ended today, the Warriors would still miss the play-in tournament in the Western Conference.

Curry ended his streak of 268 consecutive games with a made three-pointer in his last outing. What a way to start a new streak.