The Boston Celtics regained the lead in the 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. At home for the first time in the Celtics series, they withdrew from the Warriors to win 116-100 in match 3 on Wednesday night. Boston, rising 2-1 in the finals, withstood an attack by Golden State in the third quarter and postponed play in the fourth quarter. Jaylan Brown (27 points), Jason Tatum (26) and Marcus Smart (24), combined for 77 points, lead the Celtics, who led by 18 points in the first half.
Stephen Curry scored a record 31 points in 12 of 22 shots and had 15 in the third quarter, while the Warriors held the lead for a moment. Clay Thompson made his best game of the series by adding 25 points, but that was not enough. Draymond Green struggled, scoring just two points and adding three assists before falling out in the fourth quarter
Boston is now 7-0 after losing in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Golden State is also unbeaten in the post-season 2022 after a defeat, and the Warriors have won at least one away game in their last 26 playoff series. Game 4 is scheduled for Friday night in Boston.
Here are three key findings from Game 3.
The Celtics ‘balanced attack withstood the Warriors’ wave
Here are some fun statistics to show how impressive Boston’s victory in Game 3 was: Tatum, Brown and Smart are the first trio, each with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds in the 1984 final, according to statistics and ESPN information. The last trio to do that, oh, only Showtime Lakers with Magic Johnson, Karim Abdul-Jabar and Michael Cooper.
Brown started the Celtics by scoring 17 points in the first quarter to ignite the Boston hosts and help C jump to an early lead. He knocked in the 3s to get to the free throw line and worked with some mid-range jumpers to show the Golden State the full range of offensive skills. Although Brown did much of his damage in the first quarter – scoring just 10 points in the next three quarters – it didn’t matter because Smart and Tatum took over from him until the end of the game. Smart’s performance was particularly remarkable given his two-point deficit in Game 2. He reached the edge with ease and had a few auspicious throws over the arc to help Boston maintain its advantage in crucial moments.
But it’s not just Tatum’s Big 3, Brown and Smart who made it to the Celtics. Grant Williams gave Boston huge minutes off the bench, combining his best performance in this series with 10 points and five rebounds. The same goes for Robert Williams III, who had just two points less than a double-double (eight points, 10 boards). Although Robert Williams was battling a prolonged knee injury, he still looked energetic on the floor, finishing four blocks at night. After he patrolled around the edge, the Warriors were limited to just 26 points in the fight, a sharp drop of 40 points they generated in Game 2.
Although the Celtics almost let things fall apart in the third quarter – again – they managed to withstand a huge performance by Curry to lead 2-1 in the series.
The warriors lost, but Clay could return
Entering Game 3, Thompson joked about what he would do to get his shooting back for this series. In the end, he shot with only 30.3 percent of the field and was 4 of 15 on 3s.
“God, it’s probably just YouTube Game 6 Klay, because there have been some very high-pressure situations I’ve been in,” Thompson said. “In the end, I shot the ball well. When you can do it, when your back is against the wall, you can do it at any time. It’s just about keeping 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 certainly worked. Thompson shot 41.2 percent off the field and 38.5 percent from deep to the end with 25 points. He punished the Celtics every time one of their great players stepped in for a fall-and-roll fall, and showed that he could create for himself and in the arch.
The only problem, however, is that even his performance on the rebound was not enough to raise the Warriors to victory. However, although Golden State is still losing, the fact that Thompson is heating up in Game 3 should be an encouraging sign for the Warriors to move on.
Curry’s potential injury could change the series
At the end of the fourth quarter, players from both teams threw themselves on the ground for a loose ball. Curry was still on the ground, trembling with pain, as the whistle blew. He slowly got up and limped around and stayed in the game, but he didn’t look the same after the incident. The replay showed that Horford had inadvertently fallen on Curry’s leg while hitting the floor. After the match, Curry said he had pain in his foot, but hoped he could play in Game 4.
Here is a look at the play:
After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr declined to give details, saying, “We’ll know more (Thursday).”
Thompson also spoke about Curry’s injury: “Steph will do his best to play. I really hope he’s fine, because he’s our identity.”
Thompson hit him right on the head. Curry was the undisputed MVP for the Warriors throughout the playoffs, and even in Game 3, his 15-point performance in the third quarter was the reason Golden State returned to the game. We’ll have to wait to see what the Warriors will say about a possible injury, but if Curry isn’t 100 percent healthy in the future, then Golden State will be in trouble. The fact that Curry will only get one day off between now and Friday’s game 4 only makes things worse for the time it takes to recover.
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