NBA Western Conference Finals Game 3: Warriors vented their wrath on Rockets
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 22 May 2018
During Golden State?s practice on Saturday, a day after the Warriors were blown out of court by the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of The NBA Western Conference finals, Draymond Green was quoted as saying he expects his team to have an edge heading into Game 3 on Sunday.
"I think we're at our best when we feel threatened," Green said. "Game 1 we felt threatened, we came out with a sense of urgency. Game 2 we didn't feel as threatened, and the sense of urgency wasn't there. I think you're allowed one of those a series. We've had our one and now it's time to lock in for the rest of the series.?
Klay Thompson echoed his teammates? sentiments explaining why the Warriors are so tough when they feel threatened: "When we have our backs against the wall -- when we're threatened ... we just play with a great urgency and hustle."
The Warriors avenged their game-two loss in a way they?ve been doing ? big -- thrashing the Houston Rockets, 126-85, on Sunday before a delirious crowd that included a full staff of reporters and photographers dispatched by the HOUSTON CHRONICLE in the hope of seeing the Rockets take a 2-1 lead.
Stephen Curry and the Warriors proved them wrong for they?re the ones holding that edge going into the fourth meeting, also at Oakland?s Oracle Arena where they have a chance of moving another victory of clinching their fourth straight finals appearance.
Curry and company outscored Houston in every quarter, including a 38-18 rout in the fourth. The Warriors have now won 16 straight home games in the postseason, setting an NBA record. Michael Jordan's Bulls won 15 straight in Chicago in 1990 and 1991.
Golden State's 41-point win is the team's largest margin of victory ever in the postseason, passing the mark of 39 set by the Philadelphia Warriors in an 85-46 win over the St. Louis Bombers on April 6, 1948.
It came, too, as the worst beating he Rockets suffered in the post season.
Curry and Kevin Durant led the Warriors offensively, with all of their entire starting lineup called ?The Hampton?s 5,? turned in double figures.
The Warriors shot 52 per cent from the field and forced 19 Rockets turnovers, with Curry making life miserable for Houston's guards.
Curry?s 35 points and Durant?s 25 proved their dominance in Sunday's triumph. Durant started the game on fire, and Curry found his rhythm in the third quarter.
The third quarter marked Curry's 10th career postseason frame with at least 17 points. Seven of the 10 have come in the third.
For Curry it wasn?t enough to blast the Rockets off the floor, but he wanted a clear knockout, or at least a convincing win in a game of HORSE that he was at last ready once again to dominate. He and the Warriors were not satisfied to stand over their conquered opponent while the Rockets searched for their mouthpiece.
Moments after converting a three-pointer in the third quarter, he shimmied in celebration and let out a shout declaring Oracle Arena his house, with a description that could not be repeated in mixed company.
Curry, widely considered the best in NBA history, went from his 2 of 13 3-point shooting in the series' first two games to soaring to 18 points in a nine-minute third-quarter stretch when the Warriors built a 28-point lead.
The Rockets' stars James Harden and Chris Paul had combined for 28 points through three quarters, but had made just 10 of 27 shots, and that was after a first half in which Paul's only bucket was on a Warriors goal tending.
As the Warriors kept pouring it on, Curry treated his remaining time before coach Steve Kerr would cleared his bench as if to begin his preparations for Game 4.
"Tonight was all about defense and taking care of the ball," Kerr said. "When we defend like that and we take care of it, we're not giving them anything easy and make them earn every point, that's what this is all about. If we can defend at that level and take care of the ball, we're generally going to be in pretty good shape."
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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