C.J. McCollum will deservedly get the glory for his epic chase-down block of Jamal Murray, but the Trail Blazers guard will probably be thanking a Curry come Sunday night.
Seth, that is.
The Trail Blazers stormed back from a 17-point deficit in Sunday’s Game 7 to shock the Denver Nuggets, 100-96. It was a signature win for the backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and McCollum, which, of course, included the play of McCollum’s career.
With just under five minutes remaining, Jamal Murray went on a break towards the basket with a chance to bring Denver within two points. As he went up for his layup attempt, McCollum came soaring into the play with a LeBron-esque chase-down block.
That block, though, was made possible by Seth Curry. If you keep an eye on Curry, he did a great job to impede Murray’s path to the basket without fouling.
This forced Murray to slow down his approach and go into a Euro step. With McCollum running at the play full speed, he was able to time his jump perfectly and block the shot against the backboard.
It was an effort that won’t show up in the box score — in fact, Curry didn’t even score — but Blazers fans will certainly recognize its impact.
McCollum finished the game with 37 points as Portland will face Golden State in the Western Conference Finals.
