By: Nina Samone
The Boston Celtics, winning 116-110 on Wednesday, June 8th, now have the advantage in the series with a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
One of the most notable ways Boston achieved victory last night was with their defense – they only allowed 11 points in the final quarter of the contest.
Boston also scored a whopping 52 points in the paint. Center Robert Williams III was a notable defender and added size inside for the Celtics – he nearly had a double-double with eight points, ten rebounds and he even added four blocks.
The offense for the Celtics was firing on all cylinders – five players ended with double figures, three players with over twenty – a feat that hasn’t happened in the finals since the 1984 Lakers’ trio of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper and Magic Johnson.
Jayson Tatum had 26 points and nine assists, Jaylen Brown added 27 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Smart tacked on 24 points of his own.
The Celtics led most of the contest, by the end of the first quarter Boston was up 33-22. The Warriors only shot 8 for 23 in the first and racked up multiple fouls – including three on Stephen Curry in the first half.
Yet another third quarter flounder for the Boston Celtics allowed Golden State to erase their lead and outscore the Celtics by eight points.
Regaining themselves, the Celtics battled back with their defense and Golden State’s terrible night became worse when their leading scorer – Stephen Curry – went down with a foot injury after a tussle with the Celtics Al Horford for the ball.
Curry finished the night and doesn’t think he will miss a game – he plans to take the 48 hours after Game 3 to rest and recover. All of the Warriors players and fans hope Curry will return for Game 4 – he is arguably the only Warrior with the experience and skill to challenge the Celtics defense consistently.
Klay Thompson, a fellow Splash Brother, said “we need him if we want to win this thing. I know Steph is going to do everything he can in his power to play. I am really hoping he’s OK because he’s our identity, and without him, it will be very difficult.”
Boston retook the lead with an 11-6 run and the contest concluded with them defeating the Warriors.
Game 4 is scheduled for June 10th, tomorrow.
Sources:
Ronald, Issy. June 9th, 2022. CNN. “NBA Finals Game 3: Steph Curry injured in 116-100 Warriors loss to Celtics.” <https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/09/sport/warriors-celtics-steph-curry-nba-finals-spt-intl/index.html>
Powell, Shaun. June 9th, 2022. NBA. “5 takeaways from the Celtics’ Game 3 victory over Warriors in 2022 NBA Finals.” <https://www.nba.com/news/5-takeaways-from-the-celtics-game-3-victory-over-warriors-in-2022-nba-finals>
