NBA Finals 2022: Warriors’ Steph Curry had nearly half his points in ‘breathtaking’ 3rd quarter

The Golden State Warriors used a 35-point third quarter to secure a 107-88 Game 2 NBA Finals victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night, evening the series at one game apiece.

In that third quarter, when the Warriors held the Celtics to only 14 points, Stephen Curry went off.

Curry had 14 of his 29 points in the third. It came on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also had two rebounds and a steal. He didn’t need to play the fourth quarter.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr had one word to describe Curry’s performance in the third – “breathtaking.”

“Steph was breathtaking in that quarter. Not just the shot-making but the defensive effort. He just doesn’t get enough credit for his level of conditioning, physicality and defense,” Kerr said, via NBC Sports Bay Area.

NBA FINALS 2022: STEPH CURRY, WARRIORS USE GIGANTIC 3RD QUARTER TO BLOWOUT CELTICS, EVEN SERIES

Curry said in the postgame press conference he was focused on amping up his defense. He had three steals and his defensive rating was 88.1.

“It’s always been a point of emphasis in terms of trying to win basketball games and do your job,” Curry said. “Over the course of my career, it’s been a physical development that’s happened over time that obviously helps, a lot of work that’s gone into that. But from my rookie year to now, it’s always been about effort and just a care factor, overcoming physical limitations with matchups or whatever it is. If you try hard, good things will happen. And you’ll continue to get better.

“It’s always been a point of emphasis. Just better at it now.”

Golden State and Boston will play Game 3 on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.