"You can just tip your hat to somebody who outplayed you" - Steph Curry opens up on losing to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving after holding a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals
Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead to LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. It was the first time in league history that a team lost a series after holding such an edge in the championship round.
On “The Old Man and The Three” podcast, the two-time MVP opened up on his thoughts and emotions about the heartbreaking title series:
“What I’ll say about that 3-1 situation is I’ve never seen two guys play at that level for three straight games! It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen, like Bron [James] and Kyrie [Irving] were just on. We played well, they just played better.
"It was hard to watch and be in that vibe where you couldn’t do anything about it. … You can just tip your hat to somebody who outplayed you and that’s what they did for three straight games.”
(Starts at the 4:17 mark)
The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors were coming off a championship year the previous season. They followed it up with a 24-0 salvo to start their title defense. Behind Steph Curry’s unanimous MVP campaign, the Bay Area team roared to a 73-9 campaign, besting the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ 72-10 mark.
They entered the 2016 NBA Finals as the heavy favorites against LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers were hard-pressed to avenge their loss the previous year against the juggernaut Warriors.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson's shooting, ball movement and defense were too much for the Cavaliers to overcome. Golden State had Cleveland on the ropes after just four games with a 3-1 lead.
LeBron James averaged 24.8 points, 11 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 2.3 steals in the first four games. He hit 47.6% of his shots, including 35% from beyond the arc. Kyrie Irving, on the other hand, averaged 25.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals. He made 41.2% of his shots but struggled from long-range with just 26.9%.
Cleveland’s superstars, however, refused to wilt and took their play to a level that Steph Curry hadn’t seen before from two teammates. LeBron James’ averages over the last three games rose to a different level. He put up 36.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 3.0 steals. James shot 50.0% from the field, hitting 40% of his trifectas.
Kyrie Irving stepped up as well. He averaged 30 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals. He made 51.0% of his field goals, including 50.4% from rainbow distance.
After three straight virtuoso performances from James and Irving, Steph Curry watched helplessly as the Cavs completed a stunning comeback to win the title.
Steph Curry wished he could have changed his performance against Kevin Love late in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals
![Kevin Love's defense on Steph Curry in the last seconds of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals was special. [photo: Bleacher Report]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/11/b9155-16691316359141-1920.jpg?w=500)
Steph Curry brought the ball up after Kyrie Irving’s backbreaking 3-point shot to give the Cavaliers a 92-89 lead. Irving, who was guarding Curry, was screened by Draymond Green, forcing a mismatch with Kevin Love marking the wily and slippery Warriors point guard.
In unquestionably Love’s biggest and best defensive effort of his career, he managed to stay in front of the best shooter in NBA history. He ultimately forced Curry into a closely-contested 3 that was off the mark.
Here’s what Steph Curry had to say about that sequence with 53 seconds left in the game:
“The Kevin Love possession, if there’s one play like I know I should have done something different, it’s that one. There was way more time on the clock than I thought when I tried to answer Kyrie’s 3 over me. It was kinda in my end, force up a shot and we kinda lost momentum.”
Following Curry’s miss, LeBron James grabbed the rebound and all but made history with a heart-stopping come-from-behind series to win the 2016 NBA Finals.