The Golden State Warriors failed to repeat history, dropping Game 3 to the New Orleans Pelicans, 119-100. Here are our takeaways as this series tightens.
The Golden State Warriors found themselves in a familiar place heading into Friday’s playoff matchup. Up 2-0 in the series but down 20 points to the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 3, the table was set for a furious comeback much like the one we saw in the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs.
Instead, the Pels took control and won, 119-100. A 10-2 spurt to close the third quarter gave the Warriors hope heading into the fourth, but they were unable to lock in on defense or heat up from the outside. Instead of Stephen Curry nailing two massive triples in the final minute, it was his backup Quinn Cook taking meaningless shots in garbage time.
Curry finished with 19 points on 19 attempts. His superstar teammates Kevin Durant (22 points on 18 shots) and Klay Thompson (26 points on 22 shots) were only slightly more efficient. Anthony Davis outplayed all three of them (33 points on 27 shots, not to mention 18 rebounds and four steals), as did Jrue Holiday (21 points on 14 shots, seven boards, five assists, two steals and two blocks).
One thing remains the same as it did after Game 3 in 2015: The Warriors are in total command of this series. They should be favored in Game 4, and even if they lose, New Orleans will have to win at Oracle to really make things interesting.
In our three takeaways, we will take a look at why this year’s Game 3 went differently than it did last time.