Chapter 39: Curry Goes Rampant
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Curry turned sideways, protecting the ball with his left hand. He glanced around and saw Drew coming up to set a screen.
After a season of playing together, Curry's teammates had become skilled screeners, knowing exactly when to block for him.
"Screen!" Noah shouted to Taurean Green when he saw Drew moving up. Hearing the call, Taurean ducked low and tried to force his way through Drew's screen.
But just as he was pushing hard to get through, Curry twisted his body, changed direction, and cut to the opposite side of the screen, completely losing him.
Noah was caught behind Drew, and there was no one left in front of Curry. With a quick adjustment, he shot a three-pointer on the spot!
Swish!
The basketball made a beautiful arc through the air and fell cleanly through the net.
3:2.
After making the shot, Curry's tense expression eased a little. While retreating on defense, he pounded his chest and raised his finger to the sky.
At the other end, Taurean Green and Horford executed another pick-and-roll. This time, Campbell stayed close. Horford pointed inside, and Taurean Green suddenly accelerated, using Horford's screen to penetrate into the paint.
Drew, aware of Noah trailing behind him, hesitated to come up and help. Instead, he simply extended a hand to contest, and Taurean Green made an easy layup.
3:4.
Drew inbounded from the baseline, and Curry advanced the ball to the frontcourt, all while being tightly marked by Taurean Green. This time, he passed to Mike Green on the left wing, then sprinted toward the baseline.
Taurean Green was right on his heels. He had seen Curry's off-ball movement wreak havoc at the end of the game against Kentucky State and wasn't about to let his guard down.
Curry reached the left corner, paused briefly, then cut into the paint. Taurean Green stuck to him, occasionally grabbing his jersey out of the referee's sight, but Curry pressed forward.
As he reached the edge of the paint, he feinted a drive toward the basket, only to quickly change direction and dart back to the top of the arc. Taurean Green lost his balance for a moment, and as he scrambled to catch up, he found himself blocked by two players at the free-throw line.
Drew and Campbell were standing on either side of the free-throw line, and as Curry reached the top of the arc, they moved toward the middle like closing elevator doors, effectively trapping Taurean Green behind them.
Now open at the top of the arc with no defender within two meters, Curry received a pass from Mike Green and launched another three-pointer.
Swish!
The basketball went through the net again. 6:4.
Donovan frowned. This was a tactic he had never seen before.
As the shot went in, the cheers from Florida fans diminished, and Butler fans started to make some noise.
Though Butler fans were fewer in number, the NCAA committee couldn't limit ticket sales to Florida supporters alone, so there were still plenty of Bulldogs fans cheering their team on.
After this shot, Curry's face relaxed completely. He raised his hands and waved, signaling for Butler fans to cheer even louder.
"I didn't expect the 'elevator door' play the coach planned to be so effective!" he thought.
Noah stood at the baseline, serving the ball. He glanced at Curry celebrating and snorted. Horford came over to remind him, "Watch out for the screens from No. 32 and No. 34. Their screens for Curry are solid. You need to anticipate and go around them."
"I got it," Noah grumbled, passing the ball to Taurean Green.
Those two players did nothing but stand there like two immovable objects, and that really got under his skin. "A real man should fight it out in the low post," he thought. "What's the point of setting screens for guards? Where's your pride as a big man?"
Still grumbling, he ran down the court. When he glanced up, he saw Taurean Green motioning to him. Without thinking, he ran over to set another screen.
Well, maybe screens weren't so bad after all.
Bang!
Taurean Green took advantage of Noah's screen to drive into the three-point line, but missed the jumper. Drew grabbed the rebound, forcing Noah to hustle back on defense again.
Drew, an experienced rebounder, instinctively looked for Curry after securing the ball. Spotting him, he quickly passed the ball to him.
Curry pushed the pace, advancing the ball swiftly. Mike Green and AJ Graves flanked him on the left and right, forming a textbook three-man fast break.
But Florida's defense was fast, too. Brewer and Humphrey sprinted to cover Mike Green and AJ Graves, preventing them from cutting into the paint. Taurean Green stayed in front of Curry, not giving him any room to drive.
However, upon crossing half-court, Curry slowed down slightly. Without looking at his teammates, he launched a three-pointer from two steps beyond the three-point line!
His quick, compact shooting motion allowed him to release the ball in an instant. Taurean Green had no time to react. He hadn't expected anyone to shoot a three from that far out in transition.
All he could do was stand there in stunned silence, watching the basketball spin through the air, soar over his head, and drop straight through the net.
9:4.
Curry had hit three consecutive three-pointers to start the game!
Taurean Green stood there, wide-eyed, his mouth half-open.
"Can you really shoot threes like that?" he wondered. He'd never attempted one like that, let alone seen it done.
Donovan on the sideline frowned even more deeply.
In his game plan, he had expected Taurean Green to at least contain Curry, if not shut him down. With help defense, Curry was supposed to have a tough time.
But now, Curry was scoring freely, and the trend seemed to be getting out of hand.
Donovan debated whether to call a timeout to address it, but in the next possession, Horford posted up Campbell, scored, and got fouled—an and-one opportunity, making him think otherwise.
"What's the big deal if Curry shoots well?" Donovan thought. "Florida's offense is unstoppable. We have multiple scoring threats, and our firepower can last all game. I don't believe Curry can keep this up for an entire game."
While Horford was taking his free throw, Stevens sighed at the other side of the scorer's table. "Florida's offense is just too strong. They can score from inside and out; it's impossible to stop them."
Liam Gonzales watched the court without any expression, replying in a low voice, "I never expected to stop their offense. Just keep watching."
Horford made the free throw, 9:7, and it was Butler's turn to attack.
This time, Taurean Green was even more aggressive on Curry, and Donovan directed Humphrey to edge closer for a potential double-team.
No one dared to take it easy against the NCAA scoring leader.
This time, Curry didn't run off the ball or call for a pick-and-roll. Instead, he waved his teammates off.
He wanted an isolation against Taurean Green.
Mike Green and AJ Graves quickly moved to the corners, pulling their defenders away and leaving the top of the key open for Curry.
Brewer and Humphrey wanted to sag off, but both Mike Green and AJ Graves were excellent spot-up shooters, so Florida couldn't afford to leave them open.
Curry lowered his stance and began to dribble. Taurean Green was on full alert, watching his every move.
Curry started with a right-hand dribble, then quickly crossed over to his left, causing Taurean Green's weight to shift slightly to his right.
Curry faked a drive to his left, and Taurean Green slid to cut him off.
But Curry immediately switched the ball back through his legs to his right hand, catching Taurean Green off-balance and wide open in the middle!
Curry exploded past Taurean Green's left side, blowing by him cleanly and pulling up for a mid-range jumper before Noah could rotate over to help.
11:7. Curry had scored Butler's first 11 points.
Liam Gonzales quietly unclenched his right hand, a soft smile forming on his lips.
"Brad, see? Our offense is just as good as Florida's!"
End of this chapter
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