NBA Playoff Schedule 2016: TV Info, Predictions for Warriors vs. Thunder Game 3
After trading victories in Oakland, the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder will shift venues for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.
Anyone who penciled the Warriors into the NBA Finals was forced to reconsider when the Thunder handed them their third home loss this year to open the series. Before the hot takes could burn, Golden State returned the favor with a 118-91 victory behind 28 points from Stephen Curry.
Did the greatest regular-season team in NBA history re-establish normalcy, or will this showdown swing its way to seven games? Hoops fans can at least use one competitive series this round, and the Thunder already have a triumph over the 67-win San Antonio Spurs under their belt.
Following a three-day break, the Warriors and Thunder resume play on Sunday night.
| Sun., May 22 | Golden State Warriors at Oklahoma City Thunder | 8 p.m. | TNT | 1-1 |
Game 3 Preview
Following Game 1's embarrassing second-half stumble, the Warriors delivered an eye for an eye on Wednesday night. According to ESPN Stats & Info, they reversed the first contest's outcome to their benefit:
Both sides were engaging in another close battle before the MVP collected 15 points in two minutes. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has become accustomed to these otherworldly scoring outbursts, so he didn't make a big deal of the sizzling stretch.
"Business as usual," Kerr said after the game, per USA Today's Sam Amick. "This is what he does."
There's little OKC can do when Curry catches fire, but other more concerning and fixable elements also caused the Thunder's downfall. The Warriors went small for most of the game—Andrew Bogut logged the same amount of minutes (16) as Leandro Barbosa—but they still corralled 45 rebounds to the Thunder's 36.
In their limited time on the court, Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights went a combined 10-of-11 for 25 points over 23 minutes.
So much for Oklahoma City stifling Golden State with size.
The Thunder relinquished 15 turnovers—eight from Kevin Durant. Also, Dion Waiters taking 11 shots to Russell Westbrook's 14 isn't ideal, especially when the backup guard converts that volume into seven points.
In fact, no Thunder player other than Durant or Westbrook produced double-digit points, which is a typical reason things go south. In Game 1, meanwhile, Steven Adams and Serge Ibaka both registered double-doubles. Even Andre Roberson, left alone by Golden State, made all three shot attempts to open the series.
Although Roberson made some shots, the Warriors stuck with the percentages and ignored the defensive specialist, who is a career 27.4 percent shooter from three-point range. Straying away from him helped them pay extra attention to Durant, who mustered six second-half points after entering halftime with 23.
Per ESPN.com's Royce Young, the former MVP expressed frustration over the mistakes he made against extra defenders. "They were sending three guys; I was trying to make the right pass," Durant said. "I was turning the ball over, playing the crowd. So maybe I've just got to shoot over three people."
Durant and Westbrook can hide a great deal of foibles, but not against a juggernaut like Golden State. Although they won Game 1 despite the duo sinking one-third of their shots, both All-Stars have little margin for error going forward.
Prediction
Other than East Coast viewers facing a difficult decision once Game of Thrones starts an hour after tipoff, there are no safe bets entering Game 3. Having slain the Spurs and handed the Warriors their only loss inside Oracle Arena this postseason, the Thunder have proved they can hang with anyone.
On a surface level, this series is even at one win apiece. However, the Warriors boast a plus-11.4 net rating through those two games, per NBA.com. The Thunder are strong enough to steal a game when the Warriors get complacent handling the ball and miss jumpers they usually make. Even then, the game went to the wire.
In six games with Curry active this postseason, the Warriors have averaged 117 points per contest. He adjusted to the Thunder's physical defense in the second half and looked healthy enough to spell trouble in OKC.
A stronger Game 3 performance from Westbrook will keep things interesting, but Golden State prevails with Curry handling business as usual.
Prediction: Warriors 110, Thunder 105
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