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NBA

Steph Curry to Oracle Arena crowd: 'We're not going home'

By Jovan Buha FoxSports
Published | Updated
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May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after scoring against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the fourth quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Thunder 120-111. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn't the prettiest or the most reassuring victory, but the Golden State Warriors got the job done in a must-win Game 5, eking out a 120-111 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to keep their championship hopes alive.

There were a slew of reasons why the Warriors won -- they were playing at home, they finally held their own in the paint, they forced Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook into poor shooting performances (a combined 23-of-59 shooting), among other things -- but the deciding factor was undoubtedly the clutch play of Stephen Curry.

Curry (31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals) still wasn't his typical MVP self in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals -- don't let the numbers fool you, he's clearly not 100 percent -- but there were glimpses of the play he flashed against the Portland Trail Blazers last round and in the Warriors' Game 2 win of this series.

With the Thunder rallying late, Curry sealed the game by stripping Durant on a drive and then on the ensuing possession gliding in between Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka for a scooping lay-up to extend the Warriors' lead to 10 with just over a minute remaining.

Consumed with emotion, Curry marched to half-court and turned to face the courtside fans. He began yelling and waving his arms to hype up the Oracle Arena faithful, screaming, "We ain't going home":

Afterward, Curry jokingly apologized for his poor grammar in the heat of the moment:

Nonetheless, the celebration -- while coming from a well-deserved place -- was a bit premature.

The Warriors won, but the Thunder made things interesting down the stretch, and were a Kevin Durant missed 3-pointer away from being down three points with 35 seconds remaining. Curry would've been ripped for his behavior had the Warriors collapsed.

But Durant missed, meaning Curry made the game-sealing play, and regained the confidence and swagger that the Warriors had been blatantly missing after being shellacked twice in OKC.

Game 6 is Saturday in Oklahoma City. Curry is going to want to go home after this tilt, but only for the right reasons.