NBA Finals: Warriors go on inspired third quarter run, Celtics dominate
fourth to win Game 3
The Warriors went on another big third quarter run, but the Celtics had
a fourth quarter answer in Game 3 of the NBA Finals
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 08: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) dribbles against Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart (36) in the first
quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on
Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
>BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 08: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry
(30) dribbles against Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart (36) in the first
quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on
Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: June 8, 2022 at 8:35 p.m. | UPDATED: June 9, 2022 at 5:24 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/06/08/nba-finals-warriors-go-on-inspired-third-quarter-run-celtics-dominate-fourth-to-win-game-3/

BOSTON – The Celtics still don’t have an answer for the Warriors’
third-quarter outbursts.

But it didn’t matter Wednesday night at TD Garden.

Led by aggressive efforts from Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus
Smart, the Celtics beat the Warriors 116-100 to win Game 3 of the NBA
Finals and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Stephen Curry made six 3-pointers and scored 31 points Wednesday night
while Klay Thompson bounced back in Game 3 after a poor start to the
series with 25 points and five 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough as the
Celtics overwhelmed the Warriors in the fourth quarter.

After another impressive offensive display, Curry was visibly shaken up
in the closing minutes of the game as Celtics center Al Horford rolled
up on Curry’s left leg while diving for a loose ball late in the fourth
quarter. The play also resulted in the sixth foul on Draymond Green, who
exited the game to the same chorus of boos and explicit chants he heard
from the moment he walked on the court Wednesday.

Curry said after the game that it felt like he sprained his left foot
but doesn’t anticipate he’ll miss a game.

“Obviously in some pain, but I’ll be all right,” he said. “See how it
feels tomorrow and get ready for Friday.”

With the help of its stifling defense that constantly attacked the
Warriors at the rim, Boston was up by as many as 18 points, but no
Celtics’ lead felt safe as several Curry-led rallies kept the Warriors
within striking distance.

After trailing by 12 at the half, the Warriors put together another
impressive third-quarter performance that included a 12-0 run.

In the third quarter, Curry nailed a 26-foot triple despite making
contact with Al Horford, who was issued a Flagrant 1 foul that led to a
seven-point possession that concluded when Otto Porter Jr. made a
3-pointer to pull the Warriors within two points of the Celtics.

Then, it was Curry – again – who put the Warriors up 83-82 for Golden
State’s first lead since the opening possession.

Golden State outscored the Celtics 33-25 in the 12 minutes out of the
locker room. But unlike Game 2, Boston continued to battle back,
regaining control of the game to take a 93-89 lead heading into the
fourth quarter.

Boston bested the Warriors 11-4 in the first four minutes of the final
quarter, pulling ahead 104-93. Curry did his best to keep the Warriors
in the game, but took a beating, especially when he got tangled up with
Horford. He was also grimacing as he grabbed at his rib cage on the
bench following a departure with 2:19 left in the game.

At that point, the Warriors, down by 14, waved the white flag, inserting
rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody into a game Steve Kerr was
ready to concede.

“We got them moving, we got them scattered, defensively we were
swarming. We were all over the place, and we took away what they were
trying to do. Why we didn’t sustain it, I don’t know I have to go back
and watch the film and see where we let go of the rope at,” said Green,
who admittedly played “like s—” and finished with two points, four
rebounds and three assists. “I’m sure there are some things we’ll look
back at and take away from it and make sure we bring it to Friday’s game.”

Brown led the Celtics with four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 27
points – 17 of which were scored in the opening quarter. Meanwhile,
Tatum had 26 points and nine assists.

Golden State struggled off the glass and were outrebounded 47-31 on
Wednesday. Boston also outscored the Warriors 52-26 in the paint.

“They had us scrambling in our rotations and a lot of long rebounds, and
we wasn’t able to keep bodies on bodies. They just beat us to all the
50/0 balls,” Kevon Looney said. “Credit to them.”

Wednesday’s loss marked the first time this postseason the Warriors have
been defeated in their first game on an opponent’s home court in the
playoffs.

“We’re not going to overreact,” Thompson said. “We’ve been in this
situation before. Getting big 2015 vibes.”