Warriors look to superstar Steph to lead the charge

Fresh charcoal gray NBA Finals cap on backward and wearing a wide grin, Stephen Curry summed up his wild, up-and-down postseason so far and reminded everybody he's not close to done.

The MVP's got his groove back, all right - looking healthy again after dealing with a troublesome ankle, right knee sprain that sidelined him and even a puffy elbow from an awkward dive into the stands.

"Now we're four wins away from our goal, and that's a pretty special accomplishment," Curry said on Monday night after his Golden State Warriors wrapped up the Western Conference finals by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7.

Curry is taking the 73-win Warriors back to the NBA Finals with a shot at a second straight championship, his plan from the start.

Golden State's ultimate goal of a repeat title has been in the works since Day 1, even if the Warriors' chances of digging out of a big hole against Oklahoma City looked dire just last week.

His body beat up, Curry had no choice but to watch fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson and others carry the Warriors for much of this postseason run while he worked his way back.

Now it's his time again.

Just as he did after the Warriors won Game 5 to stave off elimination, Curry chanted through Oracle Arena, "We ain't going home!" as Golden State became just the 10th team to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win a postseason series with a 96-88 victory in Monday's Game 7.

Curry and his teammates earned a day off on Tuesday before preparations begin in earnest on Wednesday for a Finals rematch against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who lost last season's title to Golden State in six games.

The opener is set for Thursday night at Oracle Arena.

For Curry, there's just one more step to capping a remarkable season.

The 28-year-old global superstar was the first unanimous MVP award in league history, while also becoming the first player not only to make 300 3-pointers in a season but also 400 - he finished with 402 - before a series of injuries slowed him when it mattered most.

There was the injured ankle in the first-round Houston series, then he returned only to slip on a wet spot in Game 4 against the Rockets and sprained his right knee.

He made a dive into the Oracle Arena stands against the Thunder and gave himself a puffy elbow, and for a few games hardly looked comfortable with his typically breezy ballhandling and shoot-from-anywhere rhythm.

Until he did again.

His teammates have come to expect nothing less, even when Curry's body is hurting and speculation swirls about whether he is playing somewhere around 70 percent. He has learned to block out the chatter along the way, knowing that just comes with being the best.

"That's really one thing I admire about him. He's a person that's never going to change for anybody. He hasn't changed to try to prove anything," said 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala. "He stayed true to himself."

Curry scored 36 points in the deciding game while making seven 3-pointers and dishing out eight assists. He wound up with 32 3s against the Thunder, the most ever in a seven-game postseason series.

"I feel joy, for sure," he said. "This is an unbelievable accomplishment, to go back to back to the Finals and continue this journey. So I'm kind of just taking in the moment and enjoying it with my teammates."

And for anybody still questioning his toughness, Coach of the Year Steve Kerr brushes such things aside with another timely joke: "It's because he looks like he's 12."

Perhaps it's easy to forget how Curry led the Warriors to an NBA-record 24-0 start and a record 73-9 finish.

"You have a two-time MVP, and what he contributes every single night and what he means on the floor for them, you just have to have your antenna up even more," Cleveland's Kyrie Irving said.

Four more wins, that's all Curry cares about right now.

"The one thing with Steph is he understands that with all these accolades, MVPs, commercials, with all that comes great responsibility to his team, to the organization, the fans. He gets that," Kerr said.

"He understands that if you play poorly, you're going to get blamed if you're the star.

"He's had a bit of a rough playoffs because of the injuries, but I think he finally felt right physically the last couple games.

"That's just who he is - having a clutch performance in a Game 7. That's Steph Curry."

NBA Finals schedule

(Best-of-seven series)

Game 1, June 2: Cleveland at Golden State

Game 2, June 5: Cleveland at Golden State

Game 3, June 8: Golden State at Cleveland

Game 4, June 10: Golden State at Cleveland

Game 5, June 13: Cleveland at Golden State (if necessary)

Game 6, June 16: Golden State at Cleveland (if necessary)

Game 7, June 19: Cleveland at Golden State (if necessary)

Key points to ponder

The MVPs: Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James for Cleveland and two-time reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry for Golden State bring emotional and physical strengths as the sport's top stars. James has more versatile ways to impact a game, but Curry's 3-point sharpshooting is a wonder to behold and can be just as much a dagger in the heart of a rival as a LeBron slam dunk.

Supporting cast: Cleveland has guard Kyrie Irving and forward Kevin Love healthy this time around and how they will fare against Klay Thompson and Draymond Green figures to loom large. Andre Iguodala came off Golden State's deep bench last year to earn the NBA Finals MVP award, and sometimes unheralded heroes can have great impacts when a title is on the line. LeBron took the team on his back a year ago with Love and Irving hurt, the first man to lead a finals in scoring, rebound and assist average. He won't need such lone-wolf heroics this time, which should make him even more dangerous at whatever he does.

Rest: Golden State went 73-9 this season, the best record in NBA history, but fell behind Oklahoma City 3-1 in the Western Conference final before taking the last three games to advance. With only two days to recover from the physical and emotional comeback, the Warriors must face a Cleveland squad that won its first nine playoff games and has had five days off. A road win by the Cavs in the first two games could put Golden State in another tight fix.

Motivation: Cleveland has not had a major sports championship since 1964. James has been a loser in four of his prior six NBA Finals appearances - two each with Miami and Cleveland - although he took two titles with the Heat. Irving and Love want to show what they can do healthy against the NBA's best. And there is revenge for the Cavs. But the Warriors don't want the embarrassment of not winning a title after their 73-9 season and gritty playoff comeback over Oklahoma City. They will need more than one title to cement a dynasty legacy. And who is better, LeBron James or Stephen Curry?

Three-pointers: Curry set an NBA record with 402 3-pointers this season, shattering his old mark by 116. Klay Thompson made an NBA playoff one-game record 11 3-pointers to help deny Oklahoma City an NBA Finals trip. Golden State was the first team in NBA history to make 1,000 3-pointers in a season. But if the hot shots from beyond the arc have an off night, that could signal major trouble. And the Cavaliers have some solid outside shooting as part of a more versatile and balanced attack. It promises to be dramatic and tension-packed.