The game was already well in hand when it happened, but there was still an injury that needed to be added to the insult. Stephen Curry, who suffered a foot injury just before the game, tried to protect Marcus Smart while driving with just over two minutes to go. Smart, a 6-foot, 220-pound mix of muscle, firmness and determination, brought a compact elbow to mid-Curry, causing the two-time MVP to limp painfully to the bench as he retreated for the last time.
Resignation? Maybe not. But I certainly agree … at least for one night.
The Boston Celtics took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals on Wednesday with a 116-100 victory in Game 3, and that’s not something the Golden State Warriors will soon forget. They will have plenty of time to think about it as they soak in the ice bath and massage their entire bodies, trying to prevent bruising and inflammation from the Celtics’ tireless punishment all night.
“Match 2, they brought us warmth. For us, this left a bad taste in our mouths, because what we wear a hat on is an effort in defense and to be a physical team. That definitely woke us up a little bit, “Smart said after winning Game 3.” We just wanted to go out and if we were going to go out here and play, the last thing we did was leave this court, we didn’t want to say we weren’t physical enough. “
Boston fulfilled its clear intention to reach the edge early and often, beating the Warriors 52-26 in the fight for the match. The Celtics also showed their strength on the offensive glass, beating the Warriors 15-6, leading to a 22-11 lead in second chance points.
Curry’s trademark heater brought things closer in the third quarter, but the Celtics responded quickly to exclude things out of range in the fourth. Most of all, the Celtics just beat the Warriors. This makes you wonder how Golden State, whose key players are in their 30s, will behave if the series continues against a mostly young, athletic Celtics team that, as Smart said, is proud of its physical strength.
Jason Tatum did not have the best shooting on Wednesday night, but after Curry got into trouble, he used his size and strength advantage to reach the basket with little or no resistance.
Curry was not the only one to take on the weight of the Celtics. Al Horford nearly sent Otto Porter Jr. to the stands with that shoulder blow in the first quarter.
In one of the biggest inertial games of the match, Jaylan Brown – who was brilliant in attack – managed to stop Clay Thompson in defense. First, Brown defeated Thompson on the spot and killed him, forcing him to change direction and almost throwing the ball in the process. Then Brown recovered and used his length to cut the pass to the corner. Finally, Brown remained connected as he watched Thompson cut through the sail, then used his athleticism and time to erase the shot at the edge. Really remarkable things.
When it comes to offensive rebounds, teams can sometimes get inflated numbers due to long 3-pointer caroms or random rebounds here or there. But the Celtics won most of their offensive rebounds with determination and strength. Watch here as Horford establishes a position, then surpasses THREE surrounding warriors to ensure a rebound. He misses the comeback, but that’s indicative of the kind of effort and physical strength the Celtics have been playing all night.
“I thought the offensive rebounds were just killer … That was really the difference in the game,” said Warriors coach Kerr. “We made a few stops, especially in the second half, where we had a chance to reduce the lead or make a little push, and they got offensive boards. They were difficult.”
Overall, it just seemed that the Warriors were sent to the floor more in Game 3. Nothing was easy and the Celtics’ advantage in size was never more widespread. Robert Williams III had four blocks and three stolen thefts – and he looked like a lot more. His length and ability to jump turned even the most cautious sailors into igniting his ignition failures.
“We just talked about being where he is, because especially depending on who he’s watching, he can come out of nowhere,” Curry told Williams after Game 3. “There’s a game at the beginning of the fourth, I learned from Grant Williams and I thought I have daylight to shoot, and you underestimate how athletic [Robert Williams III] it was also how much he could be disturbed by this shot. “
In case you’re wondering what play Curry is talking about, here it is. Williams did not even enter the frame until the last second and suddenly the ball went to the stands with the speed of a fast ball Shohei Ohtani.
We knew the Warriors were lacking in size, length and athleticism when heading to the series, but the consequences were really obvious in Game 3. Boston found that the success was small to close its victory in Game 1, and then went to large, bruised compositions down stretch on Wednesday. The Warriors’ only correct answer to size is Kevan Looney, who played just 17 minutes in Game 3 after an average of 23 minutes in the first two games.
If the Warriors get big, they sacrifice shooting and distance at the end of the offensive. If they become small, they risk what happened on Wednesday: to be buried on the glass and to dominate the paint. This is a conundrum and one that Kerr and his staff will have to consider carefully as the series progresses.
“This is the game for us. We have to consider what is happening on the floor, what we need, whether there is a need for distance between the floors, whether there is a need for a better bounce,” Kerr said after the loss. “So we couldn’t find this two-way combination other than this one in the third, when Steph was really hot. We couldn’t find the right combination to achieve that balance.”
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