The Game 3 of the NBA finals was at Oracle Arena, the Warriors home court. So it would’ve been easy to give the Warriors an edge against the Raptors however Warriors lost another star Klay Thompson late in Game 2 and the Warriors without Thompson and Durant, were absolutely shorthanded. And Toronto made sure to make the most of it.
As evident as it was, the Raptors set the pace of the game from the very start, everyone getting touches of the ball and finding good shots for one another. Along with that, their defense in the 1st quarter was impeccable forcing Golden State to a lot of turnovers early. As the Warriors were shorthanded on offense, Stephen Curry made it his mission to keep the team in the game right from the beginning. Marc Gasol was a bright spot for the Raptors scoring 8 quick points in the quarter along with Danny Green who turned out to be lethal late in the game. On the other hand, it was ‘Chef’ Curry giving Golden State life throughout the quarter with his off ball screens and off the ball movement but overall the team still shot horrible from the 3 point line.
The 2nd quarter of the game is where Pascal Siakam came alive which ignited Toronto’s defense. Toronto switched well on defense, helping with double teams and trapping players when necessary, giving no life to the Warriors. Toronto shot 61% from the field with only 2 turnovers whereas the Warriors continued to show their abysmal shooting, missing wide open shots despite getting offensive rebounds. Although Toronto’s defense was excellent, they ran through dry spell scoring the ball late in the 2nd quarter and that’s when Curry kicked it into high gear, ending the half with 25 points without Durant or Thompson, closing the deficit to 8 points going into the 3rd quarter. Kyle Lowry seemed to shake off whatever was holding him back in the past few games and scored for a change as he ended the half with 15 points, keeping Toronto ahead. Toronto had multiple players scoring well for them whereas Golden State had just one.
As the 2nd half of the game started, it seemed as if both the superstars (Curry&Leonard) came out of the locker room to change the pace of the game. Both taking charge to give their team an advantage, Leonard hitting open jumpers and Curry with his excellent off the ball movement. Curry ended up hitting a lot of open shots in the quarter thanks to his movement off the ball. Though Toronto had other plans as they came out bursting in the 3rd quarter absolutely running over the Warriors. They had Gasol, Siakam, Leonard and Lowry scoring in bunches and add Fred Van Vleet on top of this, you can see how golden State got more than they could handle. Fred Van Vleet has been phenomenal throughout this series and seems as if he’ll continue to impress fans as his career progresses. Curry was doing all he could to keep the game falling out of hand but it seemed as if whenever the Warriors came close within striking distance, Kawhi would make a three or convert an and-one, keeping constant pressure on the Warriors. Danny Green lit up the 3rd quarter with back to back 3’s, knocking the wind out of the Warriors sail. Raptors were great from deep in the 3rd quarter converting 17 triples in the whole game as opposed to the Warriors 12 which gave them a sizable advantage going into the 4th quarter ending the quarter with a 13 point lead.
This was the last quarter where the Warriors could make a run. The 4th quarter started with an amazing sequence of block shots on both ends of the floor. Golden State had a good start cutting the lead to 9 but it was Serge Ibaka’s time then. Ibaka had a block party in the 4th quarter, swatting shots left and right, showing the old rim protecting Ibaka back from his days in OKC racking up 6 block shots in the game. Warriors couldn’t get past Toronto’s defense creating a huge deficit and at last, it was Van Vleet’s rainbow 3 over Draymond Green that sealed the deal forcing Head Coach Steve Kerr to call out his starting line-up and sub in the bench players. Golden State had one player in double figures whereas Toronto had 6. Curry was doing all he could to make one last run, coming alive on defense as well with steals and deflections but his teammates failed him miserably. Demarcus Cousins, someone who can bully almost anyone down in the post, had no impact on the game whatsoever. Iguodala had a mere 11 points in the game and Draymond Green ended with 17 points on a 6-14 FG shooting night. Even Stephen Curry’s career playoff high 47 points could do no damage to a fully loaded Raptors team. The Raptors ended up winning the game 123-109 and that too on enemy territory.
Game 4 of the NBA finals will be back at Oracle arena where Warriors make a stand on their home turf before going back to Toronto for Game 5 and 6. The Warriors will not win Game 4 if they have the same performance as they did in the previous game. One good thing for the Warriors is that Kevin Durant may play in Game 4 which would give the Warrior fans a sigh of relief and Stephen Curry to share the load on offense. If Durant does play in Game 4, it would be interesting to see who matches up against KD because of his lethal shooting, quick first step and amazing ball handling, all standing at almost a 7” feet frame. Although Thompson is still ruled out for Game 4 but you never know what we might end up seeing. However, expect to see the Warriors to make a hard push in Game 4 as it can very well be their last game in front of their home if they end up losing the next two games. Steve Kerr might make a few changes in the line-up depending on the scenario but one thing is for sure, this Game 4 of the finals may be the most crucial game in the series.
Game 4 of the NBA finals will be on Saturday, 6:30 am IST at Oracle Arena. Tune in to see where amazing happens.