Stephen Curry honors Craig Sager, lights up big fourth quarter in Warriors win over Grizzlies

To quote the great but fictional Mars Blackmon, it has to be the shoes.

Scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter, Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to a 101-98 comeback in a Game 4 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. The Warriors now have a commanding 3-1 series lead, which shifts to Memphis for Game 5 on Wednesday.

For Curry, his masterful performance came after he changed shoes between quarters after the third.

Curry honors Sager with special shoes

Curry kicked off the game in a special pair of Under Armor Curry Flow 9s that were a tribute to former TNT and NBA legend Craig Sager, who passed away in 2016 after a battle with leukemia. Coming in a vibrant orange hue and colorful pattern, the shoe was inspired by the suit and tie Sager wore during his last postgame interview with Curry in 2016.

At the time, the 2015-2016 Warriors had just won their 67th game, and Sager wondered if Curry was thinking of resting late in the season. The Warriors, however, were chasing the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 games from 1995-1996.

Curry instantly fired at the idea, telling Sager that his battle with cancer was motivating him and the team to chase the record.

“See you and do what you’re doing,” Curry said. “We have no excuses. You are an inspiration for us to keep doing what we are doing, keep fighting, and that is the mentality that we have. And it’s a little contagious, so thank you.”

That Warriors team ended up winning 73 games, breaking what many considered an unbreakable Bulls record.

Curry’s Sager-inspired shoes will be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting the Sager Strong Foundation, “an organization that funds clinical trials and cancer research for leukemia and other blood cancers.” Sager’s wife, Stacey, runs the foundation.

Curry switches to purple shoes from Game 3

Despite the poignant meaning behind Curry’s Sager-inspired sneakers, for some reason Curry couldn’t buy a bucket while wearing them. Then, between the third and fourth quarters, Curry went back to wearing the Under Armor Curry 4 Flotro shoes that he wore in Game 3 and then caught fire.

After changing shoes, Curry scored 18 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from 3-point range. Curry also got to the line nine times, making eight. And all this happened in just nine minutes. Curry’s 18 points tied his career high for points scored in the fourth quarter of a playoff game at home.

Warriors vs. series schedule grizzlies

Here is the complete schedule for the second-round series between the Warriors and the Grizzlies:

*if necessary