A 19-1 third quarter run powered by JaVale McGee and Klay Thompson erased a 13-point halftime deficit and earned the Warriors a 119-113 Game 3 win in Portland.
Golden State transferred the lift in energy from the third quarter into the fourth, outscoring the Trail Blazers 32-25 in the final frame. A key offensive rebound from Patrick McCaw with a minute left to play setup a Steph Curry dagger 3.
“You could feel the air go out of the building when he made that shot,” ESPN commentator Doug Collins said on the broadcast.
Although he scored a team-high 34 points on Saturday, Game 3 wasn’t the Curry show. He delivered the punishing blows but he shot just 10-of-25 from the field.
It’s McGee who has arguably been the series MVP. His energy changed the tempo of the game in the third quarter and the Warriors started fast breaking on offense — he finished with 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting and was a whopping +24 in just 16 minutes. The Blazers went five minutes without scoring a basket. Seizing the moment, Thompson scored 14 points in the third quarter, pulling up in transition without a moment of hesitation. He also made several key plays on defense and finished with 24 total points.
The Blazers were blistering the Warriors the first two and a half quarters of the game. C.J. McCollum (32 points) and Damian Lillard (31 points) both played like the star players they are. Jusuf Nurkic provided a spark and a big body. Al-Farouq Aminu woke up off the bench. Portland played about as well as they could have. Meanwhile, Draymond Green didn’t have a rebound at halftime and the Splash Brothers were not in rhythm. This was the game the Blazers should’ve stole. A 16-point lead in the third quarter felt like they had it won.
Coaching the team in place of Kerr, Mike Brown chose to call on both McGee and McCaw down the stretch of a close game. Both players delivered. It was arguably McCaw’s best performance of his young career — 11 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds. Andre Iguodala was aggressive, throwing down two big dunks in the fourth quarter and he finished with 16 points. The Warriors committed just 7 turnovers — tied for their fewest ever in a postseason contest. Ian Clark hit a big and-one, three-point play midway through the fourth quarter,
Curry said it best post game: Golden State can withstand runs and then create runs of their own. And they couldn’t have done it without McGee.
“He’s taken a great opportunity and ran with it on both ends of the floor,” Curry said to ESPN. “He really helped us get over the top.”
It’s unclear whether Durant will return for Monday’s Game 4. Durant injured his left calf in Game 1 and played the fourth quarter through the pain. Monday would mark 8 days of rest. Shaun Livingston and Matt Barnes also could return.