The concept of "clutch" may be the subject of the most arguments in the world of sports. What it is, who is and is not, and whether it exists all permeate and inundate from columns to talk radio airwaves. While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I feel that players (or people) thriving when the stakes are highest stands out as mostly fiction. However, clutch still exists because some individuals shrink from the moment while others maintain their poise and production. I know that being worse when the lights are brightest exists because it happened to me a few times early in life. The people who stand out are those who are either unfazed or enthused by the gravity of those situations and perform at these points of pressure.

Being a fan of sports for my entire life and covering them for about five years, I have never seen an athlete more comfortable in “the moment” than Stephen Curry. Despite his thin frame and a game seemingly susceptible to dominant physical presences, Curry has delivered against top competition whenever he has gotten the chance. While we always wonder if a player who shines in the brightest of lights can do it on a new stage with better competition, the basketball world does not need to wonder anymore.

In most games, the shocking reemergence of Andrew Bogut would get the headlines. After a tenure in Oakland marred by injuries and the strange disclosure problems surrounding his microfracture surgery, basketball fans finally get to see what he can do when closer to 100 percent. When asked how he was feeling physically after the game, Bogut replied “I’m OK. It’s the playoffs” to both delineate that he is not all the way back and show the importance of the situation. He helped break the traps that nearly cost the Warriors Game 3 while also giving the team and the crowd the emotional lift to start the Warriors' 115-101 win over the Nuggets in Game 4.

Even after that strong beginning, Golden State still needed some more firepower in the second half. The combination of Curry sitting for some of the second quarter with a towel over his head and the Nuggets figuring out some of their problems put the team in a situation where a pivotal game still stood in the balance.

After spending most of the first three quarters using the attention placed on him to facilitate for others, Curry simply took over, scoring 19 points in the final 4:22 of the third quarter. George Karl inexplicably leaving Andre Miller on Curry undoubtedly helped keep the run going but plays like his steal into a three in transition and the mile high teardrop over JaVale McGee showed that there was more to it than bad defense. Being there in person, one of the more interesting components of the whole thing was Curry milking the already rabid crowd after big plays. While he has done that through things like dancing at various points in his NBA career, Curry turned to the crowd (and the Nuggets bench) during the run to elevate the emotions of the situation.

From there, it pretty much floated along after Corey Brewer caught Steph’s eye and the Nuggets never responded with a run of their own. Denver still has a fantastic team and a puncher’s chance in the series because of how good they can be at home but they need to find a way to both keep it close throughout and make sure that Stephen Curry does not beat them. After all, if we have learned on thing so far in this series it’s that if give him the chance when the lights, the Baby-Faced Assassin will shoot the lights out because the moment will not stop him.