This is a continuation of the halftime recap of the Golden State Warriors at the Houston Rockets, Game 3 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals.
The Warriors took a commanding 62-37 lead into the third quarter.
3RD QUARTER: Super Chef Curry
Golden State committed its second turnover of the game early, as Klay Thompson moved his pivot foot up top after Josh Smith canned a triple on early offense, assisted by James Harden.
Stephen Curry fed Harrison Barnes for a wide-open trey from the right side, but Barnes’ shot went too hard, Thompson got back on defense to block the fastbreak layup as Smith went up, and Klay brought the ball up, lobbed to Curry on the left side and Steph splashed the triple.
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Smith answered with a trailing three-pointer that rattled in and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr sensed a momentum shift and called timeout with the Warriors up, 66-47, with 9:05 remaining.
Like he did in the 2nd quarter, Curry put on his Chef hat and went to the kitchen, stealing a pass from Smith and splitting a double beyond the arc, going down the lane for a scoop…
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…then getting a one-handed layup high off the backboard with a lefty going past Terry, then the outstretched arms of Howard.
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Thompson then went down the left side and got swatted by Dwight Howard, but Festus Ezeli, who had come in for Andrew Bogut early after picking up his 4th personal, tipped the ball and Curry got the carom in the corner and drained the three as Trevor Ariza flew by.
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That gave the Warriors a 74-50 lead and Rockets head coach Kevin McHale called a timeout.
Corey Brewer then missed a layup, Draymond Green got the rebound, outlet to Klay, and Thompson found Curry for another triple.
Later, Curry found Draymond on a slip on the left side then, after Steph took Rockets backup point guard Nick Johnson to the cup for a scoop…
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…Smith came back with a lefty hook, but Shaun Livingston fed Curry for yet another three from the left side.
Although Steph lost the ball on the last possession, the Rockets couldn’t convert and the Warriors took a 92-61 lead into the final frame. Curry had 37 points on 6-for-8 downtown.
4TH QUARTER: Dejected Rockets
Eventually, Golden State couldn’t keep up the flawless play for 48 minutes, and they started the first four minutes turning the ball over twice, missing a few shots, while the Rockets converted a couple run-outs before Kerr called timeout with the Warriors’ lead trimmed to 94-68.
Green tipped in a missed layup by Curry, then added a jumper fed by Steph’s 7th assist, and the Warriors had reached 100 points first, to the Rockets’ 71, with 6:29 left in the game.
The game was a shellacking as Steph made another three from the left side…
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…then Andre Iguodala stole a Smith pass and took his time, burning some clock, as he converted the “walk-out” layup as the dejected Rockets raced back late.
Leandro Barbosa subbed out Curry at the 4:44 mark and both teams played a little reluctantly to close things out. Later joining the mop-up crew were Justin Holiday, Brandon Rush, David Lee, and James Michael McAdoo.
Rush swished a three-pointer from the left elbow with under a minute to play and the Warriors closed things out, 115-80.
Curry led the way with 40 points on 12-for-19 field, 7-for-9 downtown, 9-for-10 from the line, and 7 assists. Thompson, Bogut, Green and even Ezeli all finished with double-digit scoring, while Draymond added 13 boards and 5 assists while Bogut chipped in 12 rebounds.
Harden led the punchless Rockets with just 17 points on 3-for-16 field, while Howard added 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 2-for-8 from the free throw line.
Golden State can close out the series in Game 4 on Monday night, again in Houston.
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via @gabeano)
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