The game that put Dellavedova in a hospital bed

Matthew Dellavedova has revealed the brutal toll of trying to stop Golden State superstar Steph Curry, in an appearance on The Richard Show.

Dellavedova's toughness is the stuff of NBA legend. After locking down Curry for 48 minutes in Game 3 of the 2015 Finals, he ended up in hospital on an IV, drained by severe dehydration.

Teammate Kyrie Irving's Game 2 injury thrust Dellavedova into the spotlight - and he seized the moment.

"Obviously it's an impossible task chasing Steph around, he never gets tired," Dellavedova said.

"Bogues (Andrew Bogut) and Draymond (Green) and David Lee are trying to kill me on screens."

Dellavedova didn't just grind it out defensively - he also poured in 20 points in a famous Cleveland win.

But it's what happened after the final buzzer that's stuck with him the most.

"I kind of get in the locker room, they do the talk, but I start cramping," Dellavedova said. "Steve (Spiro) and UK (Nakayama) take me back there. They cut my tights, they're trying to rub ice, 'cause you couldn't get them down. My quads are cramping, my hammies are cramping, so you can't stretch one or the other.

"I'm just in a world of hurt. Then they just like carry me and put me in the ice bath ... and I'm just sitting there, and then your body slowly, just the cramps kind of go away.

"Then we only had one day in between the games, so I think Steve and the docs were like, 'Yeah, your best shot at getting ready for the next game is going to hospital and just getting an IV'. So I think I went to hospital."

That unrelenting will to win set Dellavedova apart across 531 NBA games. He wasn't the most talented player on the floor, but nobody gave more.

He returned to a standing ovation in Cleveland for Game 4, somehow playing 33 minutes just a day after leaving hospital on an IV drip.

One year later, the payoff arrived: a key role in the Cavaliers' first ever NBA championship.