Hoops Habit
Fansided

Golden State Warriors: 5 Takeaways From Crazy Game 3

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) scores on a three point basket over New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) and forward Anthony Davis (23) and guard Quincy Pondexter (20) during the final seconds of the fourth quarter sending the game into overtime in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 123-119 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) scores on a three point basket over New Orleans Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans (1) and forward Anthony Davis (23) and guard Quincy Pondexter (20) during the final seconds of the fourth quarter sending the game into overtime in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 123-119 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Golden State Warriors
Apr 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) is hit in the arm as he shoots by Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut (12) and no foul was called on the play during overtime in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 123-119 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Winning The Boards Has Been Key

On a related note to Green owning the glass, the Warriors have done an excellent job with the battle for the boards. In Game 1, they out-rebounded New Orleans 47-44, matching the Pelicans’ 10 offensive boards with 10 of their own. In Game 2, it was a 49-42 advantage, with 14 Golden State offensive rebounds compared to NOLA’s 11. In Game 3, things got out of control.

A 51-47 edge in rebounding doesn’t seem like much, but the Warriors only shot 42-for-104 (40.4 percent) from the field. That’s a LOT of misses for the league-leader in field goal percentage, but luckily for the Dubs, they cleaned a lot of those bricks up.

The Warriors, despite playing with a small-ball lineup for most of the fourth, finished with an astonishing 22 offensive rebounds that led to 30 second chance points. In the fourth quarter alone, the Dubs had 10 offensive rebounds and converted on eight of them.

That’s your ball game right there, even before we get to the play — and offensive rebound — that sent the game to overtime. With Green out-rebounding Davis and Golden State getting second chance points, the Warriors are in a good place to finish up the series quickly.

Next: No. 2

Home/Golden State Warriors