Steven Curry scored 31 points with 12 of 22 shots and had 15 in the third quarter as the Warriors held the lead for the time being. Klay Thompson did his best in the series, adding 25 points, but it was not enough. Draymond Green struggled, scoring just two points and adding three assists before committing a foul in the fourth quarter. Boston is now 7-0 after losing in the playoffs. Golden State, meanwhile, is also unbeaten in the post-2022 season after a defeat and the Warriors have won at least one road race in the last 26 playoff series. Game 4 is set for Friday night in Boston. Here are three key pointers in moving forward with Game 3.
The Celtics ‘balanced attack withstands the Warriors’ wave
Here is a fun statistic that shows how impressive Boston’s win in Game 3 was: Tatum, Brown and Smart are the top three with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds each in a Final game since 1984, by Statistics and Information ESPN. The last trio to do that, oh just the Showtime Lakers with Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper. Brown started early for the Celtics, scoring 17 points in the first ten minutes to stir up the Boston crowd and help the C’s get ahead early. He hit in 3 seconds, reached the line of free throws and worked in medium range jumps to show Golden State all his offensive skills. Although Brown did most of his damage in the first quarter – as he scored just 10 points in the next three quarters – it did not matter why Smart and Tatum took the baton for the rest of the game. Smart’s performance was particularly remarkable, given his two-point bet in Game 2. He reached the edge with ease and had some favorable streams across the arc to help Boston maintain its lead at critical moments. But it was not only the Big 3 of Tatum, Brown and Smart that made it to the Celtics. Grant Williams gave Boston huge minutes off the bench, scoring his best performance in this series with 10 points and five rebounds. The same goes for Robert Williams III, who was just two points short of a double-double (eight points, 10 boards). Although Robert Williams struggled with a prolonged knee injury, he still looked dangling on the floor, finishing with four blocks at night. With him patrolling around the edge, the Warriors were reduced to just 26 points in color, a sharp drop from the 40 points they created in Game 2. Although the Celtics almost let things fall apart in the third quarter – again – they managed to withstand a huge performance from Curry to take a 2-1 lead.
The Warriors lost, but Klay can return
Entering Game 3, Thompson joked about what he would do to resume his shooting for this series. After all, he shot just 30.3 percent from the field and was 4 in 15 out of 3. “My God, it ‘s probably just YouTube’ Game 6 Klay ‘because I’ve had some very stressful situations,” Thompson said. “I ended up shooting the ball well. When you can do it when your back is against the wall, you can do it at any time. All you need to do is keep it mentally strong.” I’m not sure if Thompson really loaded some of his biggest playoff hits before Wednesday’s game, but whatever he did, it definitely worked. Thompson shot 41.2 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from the deep until he finished with 25 points. He punished the Celtics every time one of their greats went to drop cover in the pick-and-roll and showed that he could create for himself and the bow. The only problem, however, is that even his bounce performance was not enough to bring the Warriors to victory. However, while Golden State were still losing, seeing Thompson warm up in Game 3 should be an encouraging sign for the Warriors in the future.
Carrie’s possible injury could change the course
At the end of the fourth quarter, the players of both teams dived into the ground for a relaxed ball. By the time the whistle blew and everyone was gathered, Carrie was still on the ground, pounding in pain. He got up slowly and limped and remained in the game, but did not look the same after that incident. The replay showed that Horford had accidentally fallen on Curry’s leg, between the match on the floor. After the game, Curry said he had pain in his leg, but hoped he could play in Game 4. The following is a look at the project: After the match, Warriors coach Steve Kerr declined to give details, saying “We will learn more (Thursday)”. Thompson also said of Curry’s injury: “Steph will do everything in his power to play. I really hope he’s good because he’s our identity.” Thompson just hit him in the head. Carrie was the Warriors’ undisputed MVP in all the playoffs, and even in Game 3, his 15-point performance in the third quarter was the reason Golden State returned to this game. We’ll have to wait and see what the Warriors say about any injuries, but if Curry is not 100% healthy in the future, then Golden State will have a problem. The fact that Curry will only have one day off from now until Friday the 4th game only makes things worse for the necessary recovery time.
