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ByJanieMccauley TheAssociatedPress OAKLAND MVP Stephen Curry knocked down yet another 3-pointer in the waning mo- ments, pulled his jersey up into his mouth and yelled to the raf- ters in triumph once more. A special, record-setting season saved for the defending champs, with a memorable comeback added to the long list of accom- plishments. Splash Brothers Curry and Klay Thompson carried the 73-win Warriors right back to the NBA Finals, as Golden State rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 96- 88 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Now, Curry and Co. are playing for another NBA title — just as they planned since Day 1 of train- ing camp in late September. Bring on LeBron James once more. "We survived by the skin of our teeth," coach Steve Kerr said. "We were able to pull it out, and we're moving on." Curry scored 36 points with seven 3-pointers to finish with an NBA-record 32 in a seven-game series, while Thompson added 21 points and six 3s, two days af- ter his record 11 3-pointers led a Game 6 comeback that sent the series home to raucous Oracle Arena for one more. The Warriors became the 10th team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and win a postseason series. They re- turn to the NBA Finals for a re- match with James and the Cleve- land Cavaliers, who lost the 2015 title in six games as Golden State captured its first championship in 40 years. Game 1 is Thursday night in Oakland. His signature mouthpiece dangling out and the game ball cradled in his left hand, Curry pumped his right arm as yellow confetti fell through Oracle Arena once the final buzzer sounded. "This is who he is. Having a clutch performance in a Game 7, that's Steph Curry," Kerr said. The Thunder trailing 90-86, Serge Ibaka fouled Curry on a 3-point try with 1:18 to go and the shot clock running out. Curry BASKETBALL WARRIORS HEADED BACK TO NBA FINALS By Andrew Baggarly Bay Area News Group ATLANTA Jeff Samardzija made an interesting comment last week after another in a string of suc- cessful starts. Not only has he felt locked in with his pitching mechanics, but when they get thrown off, he can pinpoint what's wrong and in- stantly fix it. Maybe you don't have to delve too deep to find the problem in Samardzija's shortest start as a Giant in a 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Mon- day. Maybe he just needed a full night's rest. The Giants (32-21) dragged themselves from Denver, skipped two time zones and had to be bright eyed early on Memorial Day to face the Braves — a team that was 4-21 at home this season, but a major league team nonethe- less. The Giants lost for the first time in their last 11 games with Sa- mardzija, Johnny Cueto or Mad- ison Bumgarner on the mound. "Everything isn't always ideal," said Samardzija, who was charged with five runs (four earned) in five innings. "You've got to find a way to overcome it and play a lit- tle better. I left a couple pitches where they could handle them. You can't make excuses in this game." You could excuse the Giants if they did. The quick turn and travel also made it a less than ideal time to draw Braves right- hander Mike Foltynewicz, who matches a 97 mph fastball with a power curve. One of those fastballs struck Matt Duffy on the left hand in the sixth inning, and Kelby Tom- linson replaced the Giants' third baseman in the bottom of the inning. The Giants sent Duffy for precautionary X-rays, which showed nothing more than a con- tusion. He'll likely be out of the lineup for a day or two, though. "It's pretty sore," Duffy said. "There wasn't pain right off the bat. I just knew it wasn't a good thing to take 96 right there." Samardzija (7-3) had averaged 7 2/3 innings over his previous five starts while yielding a total of six runs. But he didn't always know where the baseball was going — never more than when he walked Foltynewicz on four pitches to start the fourth. Giants manager Bruce Bochy saw that walk as an aberration on a day when Samardzija barely NATIONAL LEAGUE Sa ma rd zi ja erratic, Giants lo se t o Br av es By Michael Marot The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS Even before Al- exander Rossi sputtered across the finish line to win the India- napolis 500, race organizers and IndyCar officials were looking to seize the momentum from the historic 100th running of the showcase event. They've put together a new ad campaign, kicked off a ticket renewal effort and have drivers urging everyone in the series to promote the sport. "It's time to take that, max- imize it, to get these fans, get them excited," American driver Graham Rahal said. "Get them to re-up on their tickets for next year. Are you going to see 400,000 here next year? No. Is it going to be as big as this year? Probably not. But I do think we can sustain it." That is the hope. Last week, Indianapolis Mo- tor Speedway President Doug Boles and Mark Miles, the CEO of Hulman & Co., IndyCar's par- ent company, unveiled a new, sleek logo for the 101st race. Top- ping this year will be tough. A dramatic finish on the first day of qualifying led to James Hinchcliffe's even more exciting pole-winning run the next day, capping an incredible comeback at the same track where he sus- tained a life-threatening leg in- jury in May 2015. Three days later, organizers announced they had sold an es- timated 350,000 to 375,000 tick- ets and that the race would be televised locally for the first time since the 1950s. Somehow, most or all of the fans managed to get to race without missing the green flag on Sunday, too. AUTO RACING IndyCar hoping to carry 500 momentum into future races GENEJ.PUSKAR—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Pittsburgh Penguins' Nick Bonino, center, celebrates his game-winning goal against the San Jose Sharks with Phil Kessel (81) and Kris Letang (58) during the third period in Game 1of the Stanley Cup final series Monday in Pittsburgh. By Curtis Pashelka Bay Area News Group PITTSBURGH The Sharks found out just how fast the Pittsburgh Penguins really are Monday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Fi- nal, and how fast their fortunes can change. Nick Bonino scored an even strength goal with 2:33 to go in the third period as the Penguins struck first in the series with a 3-2 win over the Sharks before rau- cous, sold out crowd at Consol En- ergy Center. Brent Burns lost his stick in the corner to the left of Sharks goalie Martin Jones. Kris Letang picked up the loose puck and found Bonino, who beat Jones with a shot to the blocker side. Jones finished with 38 saves. Game 2 is Wednesday night. Jones had to make 13 saves in the first period, but showed his trademark composure to keep the Sharks in the game. He had to make just eight saves in the sec- ond period, but responded with 14 saves through the first 14:07 of the third. One of Jones' best saves came with 5:02 to go in the third, as he lunged across the net to his right to make a pad save on Phil Kessel, who was parked a few feet away from the net. Tomas Hertl and Patrick Mar- leau scored for the Sharks in the second period to tie the game 2-2 after a near-disasterous first 20 minutes. With just 12 seconds left on a hooking penalty to Ian Cole, To- mas Hertl took a pass from Brent Burns and shoveled it in through Penguins goalie Matt Murray to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 2-1 just 3:02 into the second period. The Sharks playing their style and tied the game with another goal right around the net. Af- ter Burns put a shot on Murray from inside the blue line, Marleau collected the loose puck, skated around the net and backhanded it off Murray's skate and in the net. The Sharks simply couldn't get anything going in the first period, witnessing first hand the lethal speed the Penguins used to get through the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning in the first three round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. STANLEY CUP FINAL SharksloseGame1onlategoal Bonino scores with 2:33 le in third period JOHN BAZEMORE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija pitches against the Atlanta Braves Monday in Atlanta. SHARKS PAGE 2 INDYCAR PAGE 2 GIANTS PAGE 2 Curry's and Golden State's record-setting season continues with Game 7 win over Thunder BEN MARGOT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry yells a er the Warriors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals in Oakland Monday. Former NBA player Rick Barry, center le , watches as Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, center, Stephen Curry, right, and their teammates celebrate a er beating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7of the NBA basketball Western Conference finals in Oakland Monday. MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WARRIORS PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, May 31, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1