It was another night where Mark Jackson saw his ex-team triumph. So naturally, he had to throw a little shade.
The Warriors defeated the Celtics 103-90 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals Thursday, and Steph Curry led the way. The now-four-time champ dropped 34 points and finished 6-of-11 from 3-point range, including some unreal makes. The capper came late in the fourth quarter, when Curry nailed a three from the corner, and signaled to the Celtics it was time to “go to sleep.”
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Curry was terrific in the series, averaging 31.2 points over the six games. He was more than deserving of his first Finals MVP.
But Jackson thinks Curry needs to share some the credit … with an underwhelming Celtics defense. “If I was Steph Curry I would thank Boston’s defense for the MVP,” Jackson said.
Talk about a bitter jab. Jackson coached Curry for three seasons and saw him grow into a superstar. Yet, he decided to dampen his moment.
While the Celtics left Curry with too much space at the start of Game 1, it’s hard to imagine how they would’ve been able to clamp him down for the rest of the series. How do you stop somebody who can pull up and nail a three at will?
Jackson’s little barb towards Curry was reminiscent of his words in Game 3, when he took a shot at Golden State’s dynasty, which again, started the season after he was fired. When Al Horford collapsed onto Curry’s ankle in a desperate attempt to cover him, Jackson referenced former Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia landing on Kawhi Leonard’s foot in the 2017 Western Conference Finals.
The collision knocked Leonard out of the series, clearing Golden State’s path to the Finals.
“Well, they benefited from a play like that,” Jackson said. “They won a championship because of a play like that, with all due respect.”
Ouch. Jeff Van Gundy can talk all he wants about how tired he is of the Jackson-Warriors “slander.” But comments like these aren’t helping.