SACRAMENTO — It’s 2023 and the old guys are still running the West.
No matter what, Steph Curry or LeBron James will be playing in the Western Conference Finals in a couple weeks. Golden State secured its second-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday with a convincing 120-100 victory in Sacramento that helped silence any dynasty doubters.
With the fate of the Dubs Dynasty potentially on the line Sunday, the Warriors had plenty to play for. But the Petty King hears everything, and he got some extra mojo from Malik Monk.
After winning a huge Game 6 elimination contest on the road with a quick turnaround, Monk implied that the Warriors were too old to keep up with the Kings. Well, the championship core heard it loud and clear. And they sent Monk home packing.
“The competitive spirit’s always in us,” Curry admitted after Game 7. “We didn’t need any sound bites to motivate us, but it did help.”
The Warriors and Kings only had less than 48 hours between Game 5 and Game 6. Sacramento was staring down the barrel of the end of its season, but Monk dropped 28 points off the bench to keep the Kings alive. Afterwards, he made a reference to the aging Warriors, as Steph is 35, and Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are both 33.
“We knew we could run ‘em a little bit,” Monk said. “We took advantage of that tonight. … They was a little tired. We’re a little younger than they are, so we knew we could take advantage of that. We’re gonna try to do the same thing Sunday.”
A lot of experience has piled up for the championship trio in all those years. Steph showed it by exploding for the first 50-point game in Game 7 history. He might be in the typical twilight zone of most athletes, but Steph isn’t like most athletes. Curry still whips around the floor like he’s 25.
For most of the series, the Kings were deft at matching the Warriors’ offense with timely responses, but they ran out of answers Sunday. While being asked about the pace of the series on Sunday afternoon, Draymond had to cut off the reporter.
“Monk said we was old,” Green said.
The hairs on Draymond’s chin are gray for a reason. There have been a lot of high-pressure moments over the past decade-plus, and the Warriors rose to the occasion Sunday.
Draymond is tired of the narrative that the legends from his generation like Steph and LeBron are already being written off. James also silenced Dillon Brooks after the inflammatory Memphis Grizzlies guard baited LeBron and called him old after Game 2. LeBron, 38, still looks like a monster in Year 20, as the Lakers won the series in six games.
"Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast,” Green said. “This series against the Lakers is gonna be epic. You got Steph, you got LeBron doing it all over again."
Monk mighta thought the Kings could finally vanquish the champs, but he was just the latest domino to fall for the dynastic core.
"We love when we can prove a lot of people wrong,” Curry said. “It’s part of our vibe now."
Related
