The Los Angeles Dodgers have a roster filled with All-Stars, but they will be down a big one for the foreseeable future.
Right-hander Walker Buehler will be shut down for six to eight weeks after he was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right arm.
An MRI revealed the strain on Saturday, and he won’t be allowed to throw for six to eight weeks. Even if Buehler can start throwing in six weeks, he would have to build up arm strength and throw bullpens and batting practice before a likely minor-league assignment.
While the team expects the two-time All-Star to pitch again this season, the earliest Buehler could return would be late August or early September, with this recent setback coinciding with Clayton Kershaw's return from the injured list.
''He's our opening day starter, so to lose him in any capacity is a blow,'' manager Dave Roberts said. ''Hopefully, we'll get him back sooner than later.''
Buehler, who had Tommy John surgery soon after being drafted in 2015, hasn’t been as effective this season, going 6-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 starts.
He went 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 33 starts last season and finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting.
''When you lose one of the best pitchers in the game, it's a big blow to anybody,'' Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said of Buehler's absence.
Buehler was forced to leave Friday night’s start at San Francisco after four innings and 70 pitches with elbow trouble. After the game, Buehler said he's dealt with occasional soreness in his elbow in recent years, and he expressed concern.
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos revelled in his side's 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday, but insisted they will now face the best team in the NHL in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Lightning will now face the Colorado Avalanche after winning Game 6 and the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday, with Stamkos scoring both goals.
The 32-year-old put the reigning Stanley Cup champions up half-way through the second period, but the game seemed headed for overtime after Frank Vatrano equalised during a power play in the third.
The Lightning captain responded with another goal almost straight from the restart, getting on the end of a Nikita Kucherov pass in space to put his side back in front, likening it to a dream scenario afterwards.
He is aware of what awaits in Tampa Bay's hopes for a third-straight Stanley Cup, however.
"These are the games you live for as a kid," Stamkos told ESPN post-game. "It was everything I thought it was going to be and more, to give ourselves a chance to go to the finals three years in a row is amazing.
"To have a part in it tonight was certainly icing on the cake. It was just an unbelievable team effort, we deserved this one and we got it.
"The hardest thing to do is to win the championship and this group has been in the trenches. We know what it takes, but now we've got the best team in the league in the Colorado Avalanche. They have it all, that's what teams aspire to be."
Sweeping the Florida Panthers in the second round, the Lightning had to tough it out against the Rangers after going down 2-0 in the series.
Claiming Game 5 in New York before closing the series out on Sunday, Stamkos praised his battle-hardened team's ability to stay calm in adversity against a tough opponent.
"We know we didn't play our best the first two," he said. "We had that long break and didn't want to use an excuse, and they [the Rangers] had a couple of hard-fought series. They were executing and we weren't.
"We stuck with it. There's no panic on this team and what an effort. Tonight was amazing. To rattle off four against that team at this time of the year, it's pretty impressive."
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said he would still be leading the team if Tom Brady did not decide to come out of retirement.
Not long after Tampa Bay’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Brady retired and the Buccaneers were left without a proven quarterback on their roster.
Less than six weeks later, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback opted to return and two weeks later, Arians announced that he would be stepping down as head coach and moving into a role in the Bucs' front office, with Todd Bowles becoming the new head coach.
The new Senior Football Consultant explained he was unwilling to leave Bowles with uncertainty at the quarterback position, with Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask on the roster.
"I was going the other way. I was thinking he wasn’t going to play," Arians said. "I was thinking about who are we going to get? Who wants to trade? There wasn’t anybody in the draft.
"That was obvious. Me, to the public, I was fine with the two we had: Blaine and Kyle. Because I’ve seen Blaine win with a good team behind him. Had Tom not come back, I probably would still be coaching. I couldn’t give Todd that situation.”
Because of the timing, rumours circulated that a rift existed between Brady and Arians, but Arians stuck to his line that he had already been thinking about quitting and did not want to leave Bowles with an unsettled quarterback situation.
Arians, who turns 70 in October, also said that he was “upset” with the hiring cycle and expected both Bowles and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to get head coaching jobs. He also admitted that the upcoming season would have been his last anyway.
“I had a bunch of people lined up to take their jobs,” Arians said. “When they were both here and Tom came back, I thought it was the perfect time.”
Tony Finau birdied the final hole for an eight-under 62 on Saturday to share the lead with Rory McIlroy, coming into the final round of the Canadian Open.
Finau had the best round of the tournament so far, scoring an eagle on the par-five ninth before making four birdies on the back nine.
The 32-year-old is looking for only his third PGA Tour victory, with his last win coming in a playoff over Cameron Smith in last year's Northern Trust.
McIlroy had a tricky uphill putt to also birdie on the 18th hole, despite an exceptional approach to set it up, but he had to ultimately two-putt to finish the round after his birdie attempt skimmed over the edge of the cup.
The 33-year-old has been in confident touch at St. George's this week and continued that on Saturday, posting a five-under 65 with assertive driving and wedge-play.
After a bogey on the par-three eighth, the Northern Irishman responded with three birdies over the next four holes, before managing another birdie on the par-five 15th.
The final hole would have been an apt punctuation mark for his third round, after scores of 66 and 68 over the opening two days.
McIlroy has had to wait three years to defend his 2019 title, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing a cancellation of the tournament in 2020 and 2021.
He is among five players ranked in the world's top ten in a high-profile field at Toronto, coming into next weekend's U.S. Open, with Justin Thomas and Sam Burns joined by Wyndham Clark and Alex Smalley on nine-under.
Cameron Smith has recovered from an opening-round six-over 76 to finish on one-under after 54 holes, posting a 68 on Saturday, while world number one Scottie Scheffler scored a disappointing 71.
Nick Kyrgios said he was racially abused by a spectator during his semi-final with Andy Murray at the Stuttgart Open on Saturday.
Murray won the match 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to advance to the final, where he will play Matteo Berrettini on Sunday.
However, Kyrgios had greater concerns as he took to Instagram afterwards to say he was called a "little black sheep" by someone in attendance.
"When is this going to stop? Dealing with racial slurs from the crowd?" he wrote.
"I understand that my behaviour isn't the best all the time – but 'you little black sheep', 'shut up and play' – little comments like this are not acceptable. When I retaliate to the crowd, I get penalised. This is messed up."
Meanwhile, Murray's win saw him reach his first tour-level final on grass since 2016.
The three-time major winner upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round – his first win over a top-five opponent in six years – and followed that up against Kyrgios with another impressive performance.
"A lot of ups and downs, but I kept going and kept working and finally managed to get to another one. I am proud of the effort I have put in," Murray said after securing the win.
He moves up to 47th in the live ATP rankings – the first time he has been in the top 50 since May 2018 – and his clash with Berrettini will be his 70th career final.
"You're always battling yourself as well as the opponent, it's one of the difficult things about individual sports," he added in relation to Kyrgios' frustrations during the game.
"Nick has the potential to be one of the best players in the world, there's absolutely no question about that. But he obviously got very frustrated in the second set and made it a lot easier for me.
"I'm happy to be in the final. I've played well this week and I've got a great opportunity against Matteo tomorrow."
The New Orleans Pelicans want Zion Williamson to stay with the franchise.
And Williamson says the feeling is mutual.
Speaking on Saturday at a New Orleans YMCA where he held a youth and basketball camp registration, Williamson was asked if opening the camp was a sign he wanted to stay with the Pelicans.
"I do want to be here," Williamson said. "That's no secret. I feel like I've stood on that when I spoke."
Williamson reiterated that he wanted to stay with New Orleans just days after Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin said it was essentially a no-brainer that the team will offer him the max of five years and at least $182 million despite the fact he missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a foot injury.
"It's not a big decision. It's a pretty easy decision," Griffin said on a podcast. "This is a max player. That's easy. The kid is historically good when he plays.
"What becomes significant with a team that's a small-market team that can't make mistakes in terms of injuries over time, you have to indemnify yourself in some way."
When asked on Saturday about the extension, Williamson, who recently said he "couldn't sign it fast enough", smiled and said: "You have to ask the Pels, baby."
The Pelicans made the playoffs this past season without Williamson, who should be fit to suit up for the 2022-23 opener after being cleared on May 26 to play this offseason without any restrictions.
"It was a long year for me for rehab and mental battles. I'm fine now. I'm ready to get to work," he said.
Since his 2019-20 rookie season, Williamson has appeared in just 85 games, but he has been outstanding when healthy, averaging 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting just over 60 per cent.
Charles Leclerc is desperate to "finish the job" after surging to pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In Baku on Sunday, the Ferrari driver will start from the front of the grid for the fourth successive grand prix.
Leclerc has failed to turn each of his previous three pole positions into a victory, something that has become a familiar story for the Monegasque.
From his 14 pole positions in Formula One, he has managed just four victories (29 per cent) – only Jarno Trulli (25 per cent – one win from four poles) has a worse ratio among drivers to have topped the podium at least once.
Leclerc is keen to avoid another disappointment and believes upgrades made by Ferrari can help him get over the line this time.
"I just want to finish the job. The past two weekends I've already said that on the Saturday and it didn't happen on the Sunday," said Leclerc.
"So, we need to make it… I mean, we don't need to make it work but it will be very nice if we make it work. Let's see how it goes in the first few laps, and then I will try to keep the lead.
"I think since we have the new package, we've tried different things. And from my feeling it feels better in the race. But we still need to confirm it. But the feeling is there and it's good, so I'm optimistic."
Verstappen qualified third for the second successive Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Last year he crashed out from the lead with three laps remaining, handing Sergio Perez the win.
The reigning champion does not expect to make his move early but still believes he will be in with a good shot of a fourth victory in five races.
"I think last year I started third here, so a lot of things happen. If you have good pace, I do think you can do something out there in the race," said Verstappen.
"We'll just look through the data to optimise everything and make sure that the car is good on the tyres.
"The run to Turn 1 is super short, so there's not a lot you can do there, but it's a long race. Baku has shown that a lot of things happen. We just need to stay calm and focus on having a good race car."
Charl Schwartzel survived a tense finish to the final round to hold off Hennie du Plessis by one shot and win the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational near London on Saturday.
The South African carded a third-round 72 to finish seven-under par for the tournament, narrowly ahead of countryman Du Plessis in the 54-hole tournament.
A brilliant birdie on the final hole saw Peter Uihlein join Branden Grace one stroke further back at the Centurion Club to claim a share of third.
2011 Masters champion Schwartzel, one of seven major winners taking part in the breakaway series, will earn a reported $4.75million for his triumph.
He led the way at the end of the first two rounds and took a three-shot lead into the final day, which he started in good fashion by reaching the back nine without dropping a shot.
However, a double bogey on the par-four 12th opened the door for Du Plessis to make things a little more interesting in the race for golf's biggest ever prize.
Du Plessis got within a couple of shots of his Stinger GC team-mate, though Schwartzel had enough breathing space to finish with a bogey on the final hole that got him over the line.
"I was just trying to get this thing to the house. I had it in my hands and made it more difficult than it should have been," Schwartzel said.
"Hennie played fantastic golf and at 25 he has a bright future, he's playing fantastic golf. What [LIV Golf] have done is way beyond our expectations. It's out of this world."
Schwartzel, Du Plessis and Grace were all part of the same team, with Stinger finishing 14 shots ahead of the chasing pack.
Dustin Johnson, the highest-ranked player at the event, finished one-under par in eighth, while Phil Mickelson – the breakaway league's other superstar – was way down the leaderboard with 10 over.
The controversial Saudi-backed series will reconvene in Portland at the end of June for its second event, with more big names set to defect from the PGA Tour.
Patrick Reed and Pat Perez were confirmed as the latest to join the series on Saturday, while Bryson DeChambeau made the switch on Friday.
Daniil Medvedev is one match away from winning his first title of 2022 after beating Adrian Mannarino in straight sets to reach the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships final.
Defending champion Mannarino had won eight matches in a row at the ATP 250 event, which was last held in 2019, but he fell 7-5 7-5 to Medvedev in a match lasting a little under two hours.
Top seed Medvedev, whose most recent appearance in a final came at the Australian Open in January, will now face home favourite Tim van Rijthoven on Sunday.
"Adrian plays good, and some games in this match I was like: okay, I can't do anything," said Medvedev, who will reclaim top spot in the ATP rankings next week.
"I had to just continue playing my tennis. He was unbelievable sometimes, missing sometimes, so I just continued my game, and it managed to work today."
Medvedev was far from his best against flat-hitting Mannarino, with the first set featuring five breaks of serve, but the 26-year-old did enough to edge in front.
After wasting a chance to serve out the match in the 10th game of the second set, Medvedev edged a mammoth 11th game and avoided any sort of scare to advance through.
The Russian will next face a different sort of test against Van Rijthoven after the Dutch wildcard stunned second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier on Saturday.
Van Rijthoven, who had not won a match at tour level until his opening-round win over Matthew Ebden, prevailed 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-5) in a thrilling semi-final.
After sharing the first two sets, Van Rijthoven wasted six break-point opportunities in the decider, but he held his nerve in the tie-break to keep his dream run going.
He is the first Dutchman to reach the final in 's-Hertogenbosch since Raemon Sluiter in 2009.
Patrick Reed has joined the LIV Golf Invitational Series and become the latest high-profile name to turn their back on the PGA Tour.
It was confirmed on Saturday that the 2018 Masters champion had signed up for the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit, which was this week joined by Bryson DeChambeau and had Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson contesting its inaugural event this weekend.
Reed is set to make his first appearance when the series travels to Portland for the second of its eight events later this month.
LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said: "The growing roster of LIV Golf players gets even stronger today with a player of Patrick Reed's calibre.
"He has a proven track record as one of the most consistent competitors in pro golf and adds yet another big presence at our tournaments.
"He's a major champion who has had a significant impact playing international team competitions, and he'll bring another impressive dynamic to our team-based format at LIV Golf."
Reed has slipped to 36th in the world rankings having only made his first top-10 finish of 2022 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May.
He will now be ineligible for any tournaments on the PGA Tour after it was this week confirmed all players competing at any LIV Golf events would be indefinitely suspended.
However, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson are among another group of players reportedly set to make the switch to LIV Golf, which now boasts a field that includes nine major champions.
Andy Murray reached his first tour-level final on grass since 2016 with a straight-sets victory over Nick Kyrgios at the Stuttgart Open on Saturday.
The three-time major winner stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round – his first win over a top-five opponent in six years – and followed that up with another fine victory.
Murray, who last contested a final on grass when winning Wimbledon for a second time, prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 against Kyrgios.
He moves up to 47th in the live ATP rankings – the first time he has been in the top 50 since May 2018 – and will face Matteo Berrettini in what will be his 70th career final.
Aiming to keep alive his hopes of a ninth career title on grass, Murray saved both break points faced in the first set and showed good resolve to edge Kyrgios in the tie-break.
The second set was not as tightly contested, with the 35-year-old showing few signs of fatigue as he twice broke Kyrgios' serve to reach Sunday's final in Germany.
Berrettini had earlier defeated Oscar Otte 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5) to reach his first tour-level final of an injury-hit season.
The world number 10 fired 18 aces en route to overcoming home favourite Otte in a time of one hour and 48 minutes.
"I am really happy," Berrettini said in his on-court interview. "Arriving at the tournament, that was the goal [to reach the final].
"From thinking about it and actually making it is a big difference. I am happy I am here and have another chance to play another final after months without playing.
"This means this is my level and I have proved once again I am comfortable at this level and on this surface. I really like it here at Stuttgart."
Charles Leclerc stormed to pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, surprising himself by getting the better of the Red Bulls.
Leclerc produced a sensational final lap in Baku to become the first Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher in 2001 to record six pole positions in the first eight races of a season.
He was almost three tenths of a second faster than Sergio Perez, who pipped team-mate Max Verstappen to a place on the front row.
"It feels good. Obviously all poles feel good, but this one I did not expect because in Q1 and Q2 I really struggled to see that we could be faster," said Leclerc.
"In the last lap everything came together and I managed to do good, so I'm extremely happy.
"I'm really excited for [the race]. Tyre management is a big thing here. In Barcelona and Monaco we were managing it well but overall our race pace has gone a step up since we brought in the upgrades."
Championship leader Verstappen was disappointed to miss out on a place on the front row but is confident Red Bull will be able to challenge for the win on Sunday.
"I think the start was good, then it went away from me a little bit with tiny mistakes," said Verstappen.
"It's not ideal but in general I was just struggling to find balance over one lap. It's not what I want but being second and third the team has a good opportunity.
"We'll find out tomorrow, but we maybe seem to lack a bit of pace over one lap but in the long run we should be quite good."
Perez, who experienced an issue in the garage in Q3, said: "On the first run of Q3 is when you go all out. I hit the wall a couple of times – luckily we managed to survive, which is the key here.
"We had a problem with the engine at the end, we couldn't turn it on. We lost a few tenths, but I think Charles has done a very good job.
"It's a very long race ahead, so we just have to make sure we are there. You can make a mistake at any point and that's it."
Lewis Hamilton could only qualify seventh and was facing an investigation for driving unnecessarily slowly in Q2.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:41.359
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.282s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.347s
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.455s
5. George Russell (Mercedes) +1.353s
6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.486s
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +1.565s
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1.697s
9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1.732s
10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.814s
Tyson Fury has refuted reports he is in talks to fight the winner of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
Fury has persistently claimed his April win over Dillian Whyte, which saw him retain the WBC heavyweight title with a sixth-round technical knockout, would be his last.
However, he would have the opportunity to become the undisputed heavyweight champion were he to fight the victor of Usyk and Joshua's reunion. Usyk beat Joshua by unanimous decision last September to win the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
Joshua has reportedly signed the contract to fight Usyk in Saudi Arabia in August.
Reports have suggested Fury is in discussions to meet the winner, but he was quick to deny such claims on social media.
Responding to a tweet referencing that speculation, Fury posted: "This is all news to me! Biggest load of rubbish ever!"
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has heard plenty of criticism from NFL pundits and fans about his arm strength and his deep throws.
One person not questioning his arm is new team-mate Tyreek Hill.
Speaking on his new podcast, 'It Needed To Be Said', Hill was asked by co-host Julius Collins who has the stronger arm, Tagovailoa or Hill's former quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes.
"Obviously, I'm going to go with 15 as the strongest arm, but as far as accuracy-wise, I'm going with Tua all day," Hill said.
Acquired in a trade with the Chiefs in March, Hill defended his new quarterback, saying he has plenty of arm strength and is adept at running an offense.
"I've had a chance to see Tua throw the ball, to myself, but he's that dude, bro," Hill said.
"What a lot of people don't know – I'm not just sitting just saying this because he's my quarterback now, I'm not trying to get more targets right now – what I'm trying to say is Tua is that deal, bro.
"Bro, he has a heck of an arm. He's accurate. He can throw the deep ball, and he actually goes through his reads, where people are on Twitter saying, 'Oh, he doesn't go through his reads'. Man, this dude is that dude."
Tagovailoa has come under fire for having nominal success on deep balls despite this being considered the golden age of passing with all the rules that give offenses an edge in the wide-open NFL.
Among the 30 quarterbacks with at least 300 attempts last season, only the New York Giants' Daniel Jones had fewer pass plays of 25-plus yards than Tagovailoa's 16, with 15.
Tagovailoa attempted just 11 passes of more than 20 yards in 2021, completing three of them for 112 yards with an interception. Meanwhile, Mahomes went 27 for 63 (42.9 per cent) for 1,098 yards with seven TD passes and two picks on throws of at least 20 yards.
However, Tagovailoa did throw more catchable balls on all throws last season, ranking fifth in well-thrown percentage at 81.0 per cent, while Mahomes ranked 12th at 79.5 per cent.
Hill threw more shade in Mahomes' direction, saying he did not need the 2018 NFL MVP to excel, pointing to a game against the Minnesota Vikings in 2019, when Matt Moore started for an injured Mahomes and the three-time All-Pro wide receiver finished with six catches for 140 yards.
"I just want people to understand I went for 150 with Matt Moore as my quarterback," Hill said. "I love you, Matt Moore.
"Versus the Minnesota Vikings. If you don't remember that game, 150 and one touchdown with Matt Moore as my quarterback. And Tua T is 10 Matt Moores. I love Matt Moore, but Tua T is 10 Matt Moores."
It is not surprising for a player to throw so much support behind a new team-mate the way Hill is embracing Tagovailoa, but it is still quite startling to see Hill give so much love to Moore while spurning Mahomes.
This will be Mahomes' first season without the six-time Pro Bowler Hill, so time will tell how the Kansas City offense operates without the dynamic playmaker.
Aryna Sabalenka will meet Ekaterina Alexandrova in The Rosmalen Grass Court Championship final, while Beatriz Haddad Maia set up a showdown with Alison Riske in the Nottingham Open showpiece.
Sabalenka, ranked sixth in the world, put paid to Shelby Rogers 7-6 (8-6) 6-0, as the favourite in the Netherlands reached her second singles final this year.
World number 30 Alexandrova had little difficulty against Veronika Kudermetova as she triumphed 6-3 6-1 to reach her first singles final of the season.
Sabalenka and Alexandrova have split four previous meetings with two wins apiece, with the latter taking the most recent clash in straight sets at the Moscow quarter-finals last year.
Seventh seed Haddad Maia stunned favourite Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals to tee up the last-four clash with Tereza Martincova in Nottingham.
The Brazilian raced out the blocks once more to progress past Martincova, with the former 6-3 4-1 up before the Czech retired with injury.
Rain stopped play in the second semi-final between Viktorija Golubic and Riske with the scores level at one set each.
Sixth seed Riske capitalised from that point onwards to edge past Golubic 6-3 4-6 6-3.
Anthony Joshua is "more confident" than ever and has signed the paperwork for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, according to the Briton's promoter Eddie Hearn.
Usyk dominated Joshua to claim the WBA Super, WBO and IBF titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September, condemning the 32-year-old to a second professional defeat.
Joshua activated his rematch clause but plans for a second bout were thrown into doubt after Usyk returned to Ukraine to defend his homeland following the Russian invasion.
However, Usyk has started preparing for the rematch in April, with the bout set to take place in Saudi Arabia, with the Ukrainian's promoter Oleksandr Krasyuk suggesting the clash will take place in August.
After a lengthy delay for confirmation of the fight, Hearn said on Saturday that the paperwork for the clash has been signed and a formal announcement will come next week.
"This fight is on and you will get an official announcement early next week," Hearn told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"[AJ] understands that in a fight of this magnitude, things do take time. It's taken time but we're in a great place. He's been training throughout, so has Oleksandr Usyk.
"AJ is more confident than I've ever seen him going into a fight. We believe he's going to win the fight."
Stephen Curry declared "it means everything" to keep the NBA Finals series alive after his sensational performance dragged the Golden State Warriors past the Boston Celtics.
Curry scored 10 of the Warriors' last 12 points, finishing with 43 overall after shooting 14-of-26 from the field and seven-of-14 from long range. He also added 10 rebounds and four assists.
That helped Golden State to a 107-97 road win to level the best-of-seven series at 2-2 as they prepare to return to the Chase Center for Game 5 on Monday.
Curry also played with an injury to his left foot throughout, but expressed his delight at returning to home-court advantage with the series even.
"It means everything knowing the sense of urgency we had to have tonight to win on the road and keep some life in the series, get home-court advantage back and try to create some momentum our way," he told reporters.
"It was a hard-fought win. I think the first quarter really set the tone. Even though we were down one, it was a night and day difference between Game 3 and Game 4 how we came out defensively, and that just gives you enough life to withstand some rough patches.
"And then find some runs. We get some stops, get out in transition, guys get involved. And you give yourself a chance to win it down the stretch.
"Proud of everybody in terms of our physicality, our focus, perseverance throughout the game. 2-2 is way better than 3-1 going home. Job well done tonight."
Curry registered 12 points in the first quarter to keep the Warriors just one point adrift, and the 34-year-old believes it was vital he set the tone.
"It's kind of how we wanted to start the game. We rely on Draymond [Green] bringing that energy and fire throughout the course of the season, and year after year," he added.
"Felt like we just had to let everybody know that we were here tonight. Whether that's their crowd, their team, our team, whoever wants to see that energy and that fire, we feed off of that.
"I think it helped us just get settled into the game because our experience, you can want it so bad, you get in your own way a little bit and everybody feels a little bit of pressure, and it can go the opposite way.
"I wanted to try to leverage that in a positive direction for us to start the game."
Asked whether it was his best Finals performance as Klay Thompson suggested, Curry responded: "I can't rate my performances, though. Just win the game."
Jayson Tatum simply stated "I've got to be better" after the Boston Celtics were downed by a Stephen Curry-inspired Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Curry put in a Finals performance for the ages at TD Garden, scoring 43 points as the Warriors levelled the best-of-seven series at 2-2 with a 107-97 triumph.
It could have been different with the Celtics holding a four-point buffer prior to Curry – playing with a left-foot injury – making a couple of fourth-quarter baskets as part of 10-0 run that swung the momentum.
Tatum had 23 points and 11 rebounds but he made just one basket when playing in the entire fourth quarter, with the Celtics draining only two shots in the final seven minutes, the Warriors outscoring the hosts 21-6 in that time.
Speaking after the game, Tatum said: "I mean, you've got to give them credit, they're a great team, they're playing well.
"But it's on me, I've got to be better. I know I'm impacting the game in other ways, but I've got to be more efficient – shoot the ball better, finish at the rim better.
"I take accountability for that, and I just look forward to Monday, and leave this one behind us.
"We'll learn from it, watching film and things like that, but everybody probably feels like they've got to do better, myself included. [We'll] just go get it on Monday."
Asked about Tatum's scoring trouble, head coach Ime Udoka said: "At times he's looking for fouls. They are a team that loads up [defensively] and certain games he's finding the outlets, and certain games he's shooting over two or three guys.
"That's the balance of being aggressive and picking your spots, and doing what he's done in previous games which is kicked it out and got guys wide-open looks.
"That's an ongoing theme, so to speak, him getting to the basket and being a scorer as well as a playmaker, and they do a good job with their rotations.
"But sometimes he's hunting fouls instead of going to finish, I've seen that in a few games so far."
Curry's tally of 43 was the second highest he has posted in a Finals game, and Udoka conceded there were some plays his team could do little to defend against.
"Obviously we're focused on him, and keeping others in check, but some of those were some crazy shots that were highly contested that he made," Udoka added.
"You look at the overall numbers, the attempts, getting those off is the number we don't like – the 14 [three-point] attempts in general – he came out bombing early, he had nine in the first half.
"Some of the threes he hit were highly contested, and you can't do anything about those, but when we did switch, it kind of got some cross-matches on guys on the rim, and he went after them a little bit later and made some plays."
The series heads back to San Francisco for Game 5 on Monday.
Draymond Green said Stephen Curry simply "wasn't letting us lose" as the greatest shooter of all time scored 43 points to carry the Golden State Warriors to a 107-97 road win in Game 4.
The win tied the series at 2-2, swinging home-court advantage back to the Warriors as they prepare to head back to Chase Center for Game 5.
Curry's ridiculous performance included going 14-of-26 from the field, and seven-of-14 from long range, while also grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 10 of the Warriors' last 12 points in a tense fourth quarter.
Andrew Wiggins also had a night to remember, pulling in a career-high 16 rebounds to go with his 17 points, finishing with a plus/minus of plus 20 in his 43 minutes, meaning the Warriors were minus 10 in the five minutes he was on the bench.
Speaking to the media after the win, Green let it be known just how special Curry was when his team needed him most.
"Incredible – [Curry] put us on his back, willed us to a win, a much-needed win," he said.
"He came out and showed why he's one of the best players to ever play this game, and why this organisation has been able to ride him to so much success. Just absolutely incredible.
"He's one of the most resilient, toughest guys that I've ever played with. The way defenses guard him, they're constantly grabbing, and he just continues to play… he just continues to do what he does.
"It says a lot about his toughness, and his competitive nature, and what it truly means to be a winner."
When asked if he had a feeling Curry was going to bring it tonight, Green said there was no way they were heading back home trailing 3-1.
"Yeah, [Curry] wasn't letting us lose," he said. "That's just what it boils down to.
"You hear all the noise… I could tell in his demeanour the last couple days, after Game 3, that he would come out with that type of fire, and we were all able to follow."
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr echoed Green's sentiments about Curry's virtuoso performance.
"Just stunning," he said. "The physicality out there is pretty dramatic.
"Boston's got obviously the best defense in the league. They're huge, and powerful at every position.
"For Steph to take that kind of pressure all game long, and then still be able to defend at the other end when they're coming at him, I think this is the strongest physically he's ever been in his career, and it's allowing him to do what he's doing."
He also made sure to give a mention to Wiggins for his game-changing effort.
"'Wiggs' was fantastic – to go against Boston you've got to deal with [Jayson] Tatum and [Jaylen] Brown," he said.
"They're just powerful, skilled players. Great size, they're coming downhill at you constantly, so we have to have Wiggs out there.
"I thought he was great defensively, and obviously 16 rebounds – a career-high – and [a plus/minus of] plus 20. We needed every bit of his contributions."
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