OAKLAND >> Steph Curry’s final shot arced through the air, the orange sphere cutting across a backdrop of marigold T-shirts.
The two-time NBA MVP watched intently, waiting for the shot to drop safely through the net. And when it did, he celebrated, biting a big mouthful of his jersey, chest bumping teammates and staring intently into a crowd that screamed praise back at him.
Then, he grinned.
It was not the shot that sent the Golden State Warriors to their second consecutive NBA Finals. But it was the exclamation point on a game and a series and a season, a 73-win legacy, that had hung in the balance before Curry took over in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals on Monday night in front of 19,596 at Oracle Arena.