Steve Kerr took a gamble in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals when he sat Steph Curry after Curry had exploded for 14 points in the third quarter and had 33 points in the game.
Given that the Warriors only led the Boston Celtics by one entering the fourth, in a game they had to win to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, it certainly was a risk for Kerr to rest his best player.
Kerr told reporters after the game that Curry -- who played the entire third quarter and normally would rest to start the fourth -- was not thrilled with the decision.
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“He was not happy,” Kerr said. “But I felt pretty good about where we were.”
Curry played the whole fourth quarter in Game 3 when the Warriors entered the final frame trailing 93-89. They ended up losing 116-100, as Boston pulled away despite Curry being in the game.
“The other night, he played the whole fourth and I didn't love the way that quarter went,” Kerr said. “Not because of how he played, but I think we were in a pretty good spot [in Game 4].”
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Kerr just had a feeling that, despite Curry wanting to keep playing, it was worth getting him a few minutes of rest.
“To buy him a few minutes in the fourth quarter to start, to me was important, but you never know how it all plays out and you kinda just go with your gut,” Kerr said.
Turns out, Kerr’s gut was right. Curry re-entered the game at the 9:13 mark of the fourth quarter with the Warriors trailing 86-84.
Related: Incredible stats from Steph's monster 43-point performance
The game was far from decided at that point, but the Warriors – behind 10 points in the quarter from Curry to give him a total of 43 on the night – pulled out a 107-97 win to even up the NBA Finals at two games apiece.
Curry wound up playing 41 minutes, two fewer than Andrew Wiggins’ 43 minutes for the team lead.
For Kerr, it was just the right number.