Stephen Curry learns from near-fatal mistake to put Warriors in dominant position

Basketball is an imperfect sport but in the tightly-contested nature of the NBA Playoffs, it largely comes down to late-game execution. The Golden State Warriors’ first-round matchup against the Sacramento Kings has epitomized that through the first five games.

For all but Game 3 — a 17-point win for the Warriors — we’ve seen up-and-down battles where both teams have had their opportunities. Each of the four games excluding Game 3 have seen an average winning margin of less than five points, and once again it came down to the wire at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday.

Stephen Curry made sure not to repeat his near-fatal mistake in Game 4 as the Golden State Warriors took control of the series with a win on Wednesday night.

Backtrack to Game 4 for a moment. After a tough battle Golden State looked comfortable up five, with the ball, and with less than 45 seconds remaining. The ball was in the trustworthy hands of their superstar Stephen Curry, and at that point it seems like a 2-2 series scoreline was inevitable.

The two-time MVP was quickly double-teamed in the backcourt and calls a timeout. The issue is the Warriors didn’t have any after Steve Kerr used his last one on an ill-advised challenge 90 seconds prior. Golden State gifted Sacramento a lifeline, and if not for a missed wing jumper from Harrison Barnes at the buzzer, the defending champions would have paid the ultimate price.

Now, Kerr himself took the blame for the fiasco in Game 4, though in that moment Curry put his faith in the fact his coach actually had a timeout to use. In Game 5, the 35-year-old faced a similar moment and took a different route.

The Warriors once again had possession up five, this time with a little less than 40 seconds remaining. After Draymond Green took it up the floor, Curry demanded the ball with 15-16 seconds still on the shot clock.

He wasn’t relying on a timeout this time around. Curry calmly weaved his way around the floor and through the Kings defense, sucking up the greatest possible time before stamping the result with an and-one layup on Barnes. After the mistake from Game 4, the four-time champion was going to ensure he didn’t give Sacramento a sniff in the dying seconds.

That’s what the greats do. They’re not immune to mistakes, but they correct them quicker than others. So now Curry, with huge support from his core teammates, return to Chase Center with a chance to move onto the second-round with a win in Game 6 on Friday.