The Golden State Warriors‘ attempt at their fifth NBA championship in the last 11 years ended prematurely this spring when they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals.
Warriors superstar Stephen Curry‘s season ended even earlier than the rest of his teammates, when he suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1 of the series.
The two-time MVP is still having an impact on the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, however, and was particularly helpful to Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton ahead of his team’s crucial Game 3 victory on Wednesday night.
According to a report by Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Haliburton studied some film of Curry prior to Wednesday’s 116-107 win.
With Suggestion From Trainer, Haliburton ‘Cracked Open His Laptop to Study’ Curry’s Film
After struggling in the first two contests of the series on the road and entering Game 3 with an injury, Haliburton bounced back at home. He finished the victory with a near-triple-double of 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds on 9-for-17 shooting (4-for-8 on three-pointers).
“After two games of wrestling with Oklahoma City’s defense, of battling waves of defenders that just kept coming, Tyrese Haliburton cracked open his laptop to study someone familiar with it. Few players in NBA history are as adept at shedding a physical defense as Stephen Curry, the Warriors superstar who has powered Golden State to four championships… and counting,” Mannix wrote. “Early in the week, Haliburton’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, fired off a file of a decade’s worth of Curry’s postseason field goals, a highlight reel of Curry torching defenders from San Antonio to Houston, Cleveland to Boston. A generation of shooters have been inspired by Curry. In his first NBA Finals, perhaps Haliburton could be too.”
Even though he finished Indiana’s Game 1 road victory with just 14 points, Haliburton came through when it mattered most, capping the Pacers’ fourth quarter comeback by hitting the game-winning jump shot in the 111-110 thriller. He had 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting (3-for-8 on three-pointers) to go with six assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals, but a season-high five turnovers as well in the Game 2 loss.
“Curry has had so many signature moments in the Finals. In Game 3, Haliburton got his,” Mannix wrote. “For days, everyone with a microphone or social media account screamed for Haliburton to be more aggressive, to not wait until the fourth quarter to flip the switch. Haliburton had 12 points in the first half on Wednesday. He added seven in the third quarter. He had three assists in the fourth, when Bennedict Mathurin took over, sealing the Pacers’ 116–107 Game 3 win over the Thunder to take a 2–1 series lead. ”
Curry, Haliburton Were Teammates During Olympics Last Summer
Curry (along with fellow veterans Kevin Durant and LeBron James) helped mentor younger stars like Haliburton (25 years old), Anthony Edwards (23) and Jayson Tatum (27) during last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris on Team USA’s men’s basketball team.
The Americans went undefeated on their way to winning the gold medal, with James earning tournament MVP honors.
Curry led Team USA at 14.8 points per game during the Olympics, while Haliburton appeared in just three of the group’s six contests.
