If the Trail Blazers were going to sneak a win in their first-round playoff series against the top-ranked Warriors, Game 3 would have been the time. After all, Golden State has a history of dropping Game 3s.
The Warriors wanted to rip out the Trail Blazers’ hearts, so they did
Golden State erased a 16-point deficit in 4½ minutes and crushed Portland to take a 3-0 series lead.
Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
The Warriors went 0-4 in Game 3s last season and 2-2 the season before. Their recent history coupled with missing Kevin Durant (calf), head coach Steve Kerr (ill), Shaun Livingston (finger/hand) and Matt Barnes (ankle/foot) let the stars align for the Trail Blazers to fleece a win at home.
It appeared they were headed in that direction. Portland built a second-quarter lead as big as 17 and had the Warriors on their heels as the period winded down. And then Golden State, in all its championship glory, hit the gear no other team but the Cleveland Cavaliers can seem to replicate.
The Warriors erased a 16-point third-quarter deficit and turned it into a 119-113 Game 3 victory over the Trail Blazers on Saturday. They wrenched Portland’s soul, wrung it out and threw it into the gutter as they took a 3-0 series lead no team has ever come back from.
Golden State took Portland’s heart, like they said they would, and delivered its fatal blow in Game 3.
It was Klay Thompson in the third quarter and Stephen Curry in the fourth that shifted the night into Golden State’s favor.
In a four-and-a-half-minute third-quarter stretch from 6:30 to two minutes, Thompson scored 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting from downtown. That 19-1 run was catalyzed by JaVale McGee, who scored on two alley-oops and energized a Warriors team itching to make a run.
Golden State outscored Portland by 17 when McGee subbed in in the third quarter.
It got better for the Warriors when Steph Curry caught fire in the final period. The two-time MVP scored 14 points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-4 on threes and nailing all six of his foul shots. He also had four dimes in the fourth quarter, putting the cap on an incredible night that produced 34 points (10-of-25 shooting), eight assists and two steals.
The Warriors’ comeback victory was a debilitating blow to a Trail Blazers team that gave its all.
Jusuf Nurkic returned early from a fractured right leg to play almost 17 minutes, and while he only scored two points, he contributed with 11 rebounds and four assists. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 63 points, each shooting 10-of-23 from the field.
Evan Turner scored 17 points, and Portland’s bench even supplied 30 points between Allen Crabbe (six), Al-farouq Aminu (14) and Noah Vonleh (10). It still wasn’t enough.
That’s why this series is over.
There’s a game left to play and it’s in Portland, but at this point, the Trail Blazers have nothing left to give. They pulled Nurkic off the shelf, super-charged their reserves and got huge efforts out of their star guards but it was of no avail.
The Blazers fell to a team without its head coach, without its leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker, and without two of its rotational players. It was a valiant effort, but it wasn’t enough.
And unfortunately for Portland, it’ll probably only get worse in Game 4.
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