Clippers at Warriors
The Golden State Warriors bounced back from an embarrassing Game 2 loss but did not have quite enough down the stretch to overcome the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 3. The Warriors will try to protect home court and even the series at two games apiece when they host the Clippers in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Western Conference series on Sunday. The absence of Andrew Bogut for Golden State is becoming more of a concern due to DeAndre Jordan’s strong play.
The Warriors made up for Bogut’s absence with a smaller lineup in Game 1 but Blake Griffin and Jordan have had their way on the inside in the last two contests. Griffin became the first Los Angeles player to go for 30 or more points in back-to-back playoff games since Elton Brand in 2006 while Jordan’s 22 rebounds in Game 3 matched a franchise playoff record. One bright spot for Golden State came in the closing minutes of Game 3 when Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry finally started to get hot from beyond the arc before Curry’s final chance came up short in the 98-96 setback. Los Angeles was dealing with a distraction leading up to Game 4 as owner Donald Sterling is being investigated by the NBA due to an audio tape that surfaced of Sterling making racist remarks.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Jordan has recorded five blocked shots in each of the first three games and is getting high praise from his coach and teammates. “It doesn’t surprise me,” Chris Paul told reporters of Jordan. “He’s been that way for us, five blocked shots a game. He just covers up for us so many times. When guys get by us, he’s just there for us, and that’s why he is who he is.” Los Angeles struggled at the free throw line in Game 3 (10-of-23) to leave the door open for Curry at the end before Paul made like his teammate and came up with a key defensive stop, avoiding the foul call and altering the final attempt.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS: Golden State is shooting 27.3 percent from 3-point range in the series and coach Mark Jackson is concerned about the team getting out of rhythm. “We turned the ball over too much,” Jackson told reporters after Game 3. “We just got out of character. I thought we tried to do too much at times offensively instead of trusting our offense. We were just on edge a little bit.” Curry buried three straight 3-point attempts prior to the final miss and did a better job of taking what the defense gave him earlier in the contest while finishing with 16 points and a postseason career-high 15 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Warriors F Draymond Green recorded his second career playoff double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in Game 3.
2. Los Angeles F Matt Barnes is 4-of-16 from the field in the series.
3. Griffin went 13-for-14 from the free-throw line in the first two games but connected on only two of his nine attempts in Game 3.