Warriors at Clippers
The Golden State Warriors suffered an embarrassing defeat in Game 2 of their Western Conference playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers by blowing a big lead, so they just went out and built a bigger lead in Game 3. The Warriors will try to blow past the eighth-seeded Clippers once again and take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven set when they visit Los Angeles for Game 4 on Sunday.
Golden State breezed to a 121-104 victory in Game 1 and fell apart in the second half of Game 2 - squandering a 31-point lead - before showing off on the road and dominating the Clippers 132-105 in Game 3 to take back homecourt advantage. "It's good to go through some trials and tribulations - not internally, but just on the basketball court and from a basketball standpoint," Warriors forward Andre Iguodala told the San Francisco Chronicle after Game 3. "We did a good job responding tonight, and we will come in with the right mindset come Sunday." The Clippers were not concerned about the margin of victory for Golden State and remain confident in their ability to come back in the series. "There's a lot of series where you get blown out and you come back and win," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters. "I've been in series that we got blown out by 30 and won the next three games. That's how the playoffs are. You don't overreact to one game, either way. If you're the 30-point victor, you don't overreact to that, either. You better be ready, because they will be."
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Superstar forward Kevin Durant committed nine turnovers in Game 2 and attempted only eight field goals but was a different player in Game 3, coming out aggressive and finishing with 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter. "I think coach (Steve) Kerr came up with some plays for me at the start of the game," Durant told reporters. "I think doing that kind of set the tone. Just putting pressure on the defense through post-ups, through dribble handoffs. I think that was something we talked about this morning, just consciously with the way they play, just coming off a lot of Andrew Bogut screens, sitting in the post. If they double, guys are moving. We were just more patient tonight, to sum it up." Golden State shot 54.8 percent from the floor and totaled 35 assists in Game 3.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: The Los Angeles starting backcourt trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Landry Shamet and Patrick Beverley combined to go 4-of-17 from the floor in Game 3, but Rivers was much more concerned about forward Danilo Gallinari's 2-of-13 effort. "We have to get Gal going," Rivers told reporters. "Like, we've got to get Gal playing better, bottom line. On both ends, too. He's got to rebound better; he's got to be more assertive offensively. We have to put him in positions to do that, and I have every confidence that he will because that’s what he’s done all year." Gallinari is shooting 29.7 percent from the floor in the series and went 0-of-8 from beyond the arc in Game 3.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors PG Stephen Curry is 17-of-29 from 3-point range in the series.
2. Clippers PF Montrezl Harrell is 26-of-34 from the floor in the series.
3. Durant and Los Angeles PF JaMychal Green each had technical fouls rescinded by the league after Game 3.