Curry recalls meeting Red Sox's Ortiz at `raver of a bachelor party'

BOSTON >> Fans in this city haven't held back on the Steph Curry trash talk, but the Warriors' superstar is one of them. Sort of.

Curry has been a Red Sox fan since he was a kid, a fandom that started to spite his little brother, Seth, a New York Yankees fan. Curry has sent out celebratory tweets when the Red Sox won World Series titles in 2013 and 2018. Apparently, he's taken plenty of inspiration from Red Sox Hall of Famer David Ortiz.

“Those iconic moments that Big Papi was always a part of, even the championship moments, the way that he was kind of an ambassador for the city, spokesman for the city, just the reception and chemistry he had with this town. All of that is inspiring, for sure,” Curry said on Wednesday at practice.

Curry had a “raver of a bachelor party” at a Red Sox game back in 2011, he said, for two games against the Chicago Cubs. Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, Curry didn't make many trips to Fenway. But after his second year in the NBA, Curry got to meet Big Papi at his bachelor party.

“He gave me a bat. Got to go into the depths of the Green Monster and just see the atmosphere and the culture that he was trying to continue as an iconic Red Sox player,” he said.

Steph, Klay and Dray on a plane

Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have been playing together for 10 years, including six postseasons running deep into the summer. They've spent a lot of time together — on the court, in practice, in the air. Maybe too much time.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers was surprised, then, to see the trio sitting at a table together on the six-hour flight back to Boston for Game 6 on Tuesday.

“It's funny, we were sitting on the plane yesterday and we sat at the same table and Bob walked past us and he's like, man, y'all are funny, y'all still sit together,” Green said. This group is tied together in NBA lore — with a Game 5 win, they became the first NBA trio in the last 30 years to win 20 NBA Finals games together.

“Y'all don't understand, it's 10 years. Like this, does not happen,” Green said. “Guys still sitting together at the same table. He's like, guys not even on the same team for ten years, let alone still sitting there at the same table and enjoying each other's conversation and presence.”

Thompson recalls the plane ride a little differently. Yes, all three were sitting together. But Thompson was trying to get some shut-eye. And possibly avoid Green.

“I owe Draymond some money in dominoes, so I don't want to see him too many times,” Thompson said with a smile. “That's funny. That happened like two days ago. I was half asleep. Draymond and Bob were chatting their hearts away for six hours on a plane ride. I was just trying to get some sleep. Good times.”

Crying foul

The Warriors have been called for 24 more fouls in this series than the Celtics, yet it was Boston in Game 5 that was rattled by the officiating.

After the loss Monday night, Celtics coach Ime Udoka admitted that the officiating “got to us.”

The Celtics seemed out of sorts for most of the game as they argued for call after call. So much so that Udoka was slapped with a technical foul for complaining to officials at the end of the first quarter after Robert Williams III was called for a shooting foul on Andrew Wiggins.

Boston's frustrations spilled into the second half. Marcus Smart was throwing his body around as he practically begged for fouls.

Thompson said the Warriors don't necessarily feed off an opponent losing their composure amid a game.

“I don't think we focus on it too much, to be honest. We have a next-play mentality,” he said. “We're just worried about getting a great shot up in those moments, not what the other team is talking about.

“Basketball is a very continuous game. If you're out there talking to the officials the whole night, you might get in your own way.”

That's something the Celtics hope to fix in Game 6 as they face elimination.

“It's a physical series,” Udoka said. “We're complaining at times too much throughout the game… Some we need to block out and be better at overall.”