MODA CENTER, PORTLAND, OR — This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors at the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3 of the 2016 Western Conference Semifinals.
The Blazers took a 58-46 lead into halftime.
3rd Quarter – Dubs Can’t Stop Rip City
Blazers head coach Terry Stotts opted to start small forward Gerald Henderson at power forward over Maurice Harkless, who went an invisible 3 points in just 4 minutes of play in the first half.
Andrew Bogut immediately picked up his fourth personal foul away from the foul while guarding Mason Plumlee, then right after that, drew his fifth on a touch foul as C.J. McCollum drove by and scored a bucket plus the harm.
But Draymond Green rose to the challenge, draining two straight triples from near the top of the arc, both on catch-and-shoots delivered by Shaun Livingston, and Stotts called timeout with 9:04 remaining and the Blazers up, 63-56.
Out of the timeout, referee Bill Kennedy drew the Warriors’ ire as Harrison Barnes tapped out a dribble by Damian Lillard, only to have the Blazers retain possession on a side out. Barnes claimed the ball went off Lillard.
Right after that, McCollum drew a “phantom” foul on Draymond inside, with Kennedy whistling the play from the sideline, above Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, towards halfcourt. Kerr couldn’t believe it, put his hands on his head, and marched down the Warriors bench in disbelief.
Stephen Curry couldn’t believe it, either:
Coach Curry thought that call was terrible pic.twitter.com/1EhPeIkamr
— The Cauldron (ICYMI) (@CauldronICYMI) May 8, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Klay Thompson got a drive to drop, but Al-Farouq Aminu hit a three from the top.
Livingston then jammed home an impressive “uncle” one-hander…
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
…but Ed Davis got a bucket inside and then stopped Klay at the rim, forcing a jump ball, and after the Blazers retained possession, Lillard found Henderson open in the left corner and another three-ball set back the Warriors, this time to 75-60, and Kerr called timeout with 6:44 to play.
Draymond hit another two triples, but the Blazers answered every Warriors bucket.
Aminu got a putback after Livingston drew an “and-one” on Lillard on a jumper. Allen Crabbe lasered in a three after Klay hit a jumper, and Kennedy called another touch foul to put Brian Roberts on the line after another Thompson jumper.
Kerr ordered a “Hack-A-Davis”, but Davis hit both free throws and Portland held an 87-75 lead with 1:27 to go.
Even when Golden State played good one-on-one defense, like when Lillard drove in, only to be swatted by Klay, they recovered and punished the Warriors, as Lillard got his own rebound and fed Crabbe for three more from the top.
But Green put the Warriors on his back, going strong with the lefty past Davis, then drilling a catch-and-shoot three on a baseline inbound, after Lillard coldly buried a three before that:
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
The Blazers took a 93-80 lead into the final frame, as Lillard led the way with 30 points. Draymond, by now, had poured in 28 points on 6 treys.
4th Quarter – Shootout
Portland increased their lead to sixteen as McCollum hit a jumper and Aminu a left corner triple to help the Blazers go up, 98-82, with 10:54 remaining.
Plumlee and Marreese Speights traded empty trips to the line, but Aminu went right baseline and scored again for his 22nd and 23rd points of the night.
After Kennedy gifted Andre Iguodala with a touch foul on Aminu on Iguodala’s hip…
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
…McCollum scored an upfake over Ian Clark and the Blazers had their largest lead of the night, 102-85, with 8:26 to play.
McCollum did well to knock a Green post up out, then Thompson was draped all over Lillard and didn’t allow him to get a good look from beyond the arc.
Aminu hit another corner trey and Barnes came back with one of his own…
Barnes for 3! @NBAonABC #NBARapidReplay #WARRIORSvBLAZERS https://t.co/dBijkTPNeE
— NBA (@NBA) May 8, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
…then dove and stole a ball, resulting in an Iguodala behind-the-back pass that went awry, but landed in Leandro Barbosa’s hands from the left wing.
His foot was on the arc, but he buried the shot and Stotts took a timeout as the Warriors climbed back to within 105-92 with 6:00 left.
Out of the timeout, Barnes got a defensive rebound of a Lillard miss, then went strong with the left step past Lillard for a layup, but after a missed three by Crabbe, couldn’t get the call as he drew contact on a banker from the left side, again against Lillard.
McCollum made an upfake to let Green fly by, and scored a floater to keep Golden State at bay, 107-94.
Thompson felt he got held as he made a pass that was too high to Draymond on the sideline, saving it to a Blazer, and Lillard split the defense at the top and went in for a lay-in above the rim.
Klay came back with a triple, but Davis filled the lane in transition and got a layup over Green, where an “and-one” foul easily coul have been called on Draymond, but wasn’t.
Thompson tried another hero shot from the top, but got nothing but air and with 3:23 remaining, the Warriors were down 111-97 and running out of time.
Green got a layup on a cut, fed by Livingston’s tenth assist.
But Lillard smelled blood and threw a couple of daggers, pulling up from the deep right elbow in Klay’s face:
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
Draymond’s “never say die” attitude shone through as he answered with a three as well, but after crossing halfcourt, Lillard went with a right-to-left stepback over Thompson again for three more, and with 2:15 to play, the Blazers held a commanding 117-102 lead:
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
Green wasn’t done, though, and stuck his eighth triple of the night on a catch from the right corner where Brandon Rush was:
https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js
But once again, the Blazers came back with three points as McCollum buried one from the right elbow and Kerr called timeout with 1:42 left to empty his bench, the Warriors down an insurmountable 117-106.
Portland took Game 3 and now trailed in the series, 2-1, as they won by a final score of 120-108. The two teams go at it again from the same venue in two nights in Game 4.
Draymond scored a career-high 37 points, while tallying 9 rebounds and 8 assists in the process. Klay had 35 points on 14-for-28 field, Livingston chipped in 8 assists and Bogut 8 rebounds, while Barbosa added 10 points off the bench.
Lillard accumulated 40 points and 10 assists, with 8 threes, while Aminu collected 23 points and 10 rebounds. McCollum added 22 points.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @tim_mahan)
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
