How much can the perception of a series change in one game?
Steph Curry jolted the Spurs with 44 points in Game. Klay Thompson lit it up for 34 in Game 2. In Game 3 it was Tony Parker's turn. With the Spurs needing someone to step up their game after the Warriors jumped out to big leagues in Games 1-2, it was Parker who answered the call. He dropped 32 on the Warriors (25 in the first half), shooting .565 (13-23) to help regain the Home Court advantage. As I said in my last post, if Parker gets going it's easier for everyone else.
Tim Duncan dropped in 23 on 10-21 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard had an efficient 17 points on 5-7 shooting and also pulled down 9 rebs.
Compare the Spurs .506 shooting percentage vs. the Warriors .393 and it was surprising that the Warriors kept themselves in it for most of the game (the score was tied 65-65 with 6:20 left in the 3rd quarter) and got to within one (79-78) with 10:05 left in the 4th. The Spurs won this game by jumping out to a 32-23 lead after the 1st
quarter...the next three quarters went 25-25, 23-21, 23-23.
In games
1-2, when the Warriors jumped out to leads and every time the Spurs
would get close or tie it, the Warriors would pull away again (with the
exception of the 2nd OT in Game 1 when the Spurs finally managed to get
and hold the lead). Game 3 was the opposite, with the Spurs jumping out to leads and then
going on runs every time the Warriors got close or tied it. After the
score was tied at 65-65, the Spurs went on a 14-4 run to make it 79-69
going into the 4th. The Spurs pulled away again when the Warriors closed to 79-78, finishing the game by outscoring the Warriors 23-14 the rest of the way. That's pretty much the way the entire game
went.
Considering Curry and Thompson went a combined 13-37, the Warriors can't feel too bad about losing Game 3. A bigger concern for Warrior fans is Curry's ankle, which he twisted in the 4th quarter. Curry stayed in the Game, but had a noticeable limp. If you've ever turned an ankle, you know it's usually much worse the next day. I'm sure the Warrior's medical staff will do everything they can to get Curry ready for Game 4 Sunday, but with Curry's strengths being his speed and quickness you have to wonder how much the ankle will effect his game.
The Spurs have to feel good in that they got a 10 point win with Manu Ginobili struggling with his shot (4-11) and getting just 3 points from Danny Green. Green made his contributions on the defensive end, getting the assignment of guarding Curry for much of the Game.
It will be interesting to see how the Warriors counter that. The Spurs can only use Green on Curry when the Warriors go small. While Jack did score (11 points), he wasn't that efficient (5-12 shooting, 1 assist), but just as important, it allowed Popovich to put Parker on Jack, letting Green take Curry. As they kept showing during Game 3, Green has been the most effective defender on Curry. Jack played 34:13 in Game 3. Will the Warriors give more time to Carl Landy and/or Draymond Green to limit the Green-Curry matchup?
This was the Parker we saw for much of the season when sportscasters were saying, "Yea, LeBron James is going to win the MVP, but Parker is at least in the conversation" before Parker went out with a leg injury. The question is, can he sustain that level of play? Or will Curry be able to shake off the injury and repeat what he did in Game 1....or maybe Thompson steps up again like he did in Game 2...or maybe it's someone else this time, after all it's been three different hot hands in three games. I would think that Ginobili will have an impact game before this series is over (yea, I know he hit the tying shot in regulation of Game 1, but he made just 5-20).
What a difference a game makes. It was obvious that I was doubting the Spurs ability to win this series after Game 2...now, although still not willing to bet the house on it, I think the Spurs are back in control and should be able to move on to the Conference Finals.
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