Williams relives Finals moment he realized Steph was ‘different’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Losing an NBA championship is never easy and often hard to overcome. Dallas Mavericks forward Grant Williams still is haunted by what transpired in the 2022 NBA Finals against the Warriors.
Williams, who was with the Boston Celtics, pinpointed Game 4 and Steph Curry for breaking his and the team’s hearts. The Celtics were up two-games-to-one in the series heading into Game 4, with their eye on a 3-1 lead and believing it was their time to win a title.
However, Curry had other plans for Williams and Co. as the Warriors star exploded for 43 points for a 103-90 win at TD Garden.
“We get to the Finals, we’re up 2-1,” Grant said on the latest episode of “Run Your Race” (h/t ClutchPoints). “We’re like, ‘Aw s–t, it’s our time. We about to go get it.’ Game 4, we’re leading the entire way. We’re like, ‘We get 3-1; we might go back to Golden State and win this.’… Charlotte, North Carolina boys. That man was different. Different, bro.”
Although the sting likely remains for Williams, now a full year removed from what transpired in Boston, the 24-year-old can only appreciate the greatness of what he saw first-hand.
“It’s like one of those things where I look back at it, and I’m like, ‘He’s tough,’” Williams continued. “… I remember watching him [before I was in the NBA]; he was absurd to watch then, [when] I played against him, I was like, ‘He’s different.’”
The Game 4 win for the Warriors proved to be the turning point in the series. Golden State left Boston with a split and wouldn’t lose another game as Curry and the Warriors beat the Celtics in six games to lift the franchise’s fourth NBA title in eight seasons.
As for the Celtics, the team that reached the 2022 NBA Finals has undergone several changes. Williams and Marcus Smart were vital players on the squad. Nonetheless, both are gone as Boston again attempts to find the right formula to reach another NBA Finals.
