Stephen Curry stole the show in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, pouring in 35 points as he found his stroke in the 126-85 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Aside from the sharpshooter going off, there were other factors at work in Golden State taking a 2-1 series lead.
Here are five takeaways from Game 3.
Rockets shoot themselves in foot
Houston have an extremely thing margin of error – if one at all – against Golden State, so they can’t fumble away opportunities like they did in Game 3. The Rockets shot just 13-of-27 in the restricted area and 4-of-9 on corner 3s. There were simply too many misses point-blank and while that 3-point shooting percentage isn’t bad, it’s not enough to beat the Warriors on their home floor.
Hunting Harden
There’s been a lot of focus on how much the Rockets have hunted Curry when they have the ball, but Golden State are using a similar tactic against James Harden. When Harden was the primary defender in Game 3, the Warriors shot 7-of-12, with Curry and Kevin Durant going 5-of-6. Durant in particular looked to attack whenever Harden was on him and that should continue to be a theme in the rest of the series.
Kevin Durant in transition is breathtaking. Meanwhile James Harden is doing his best 2016 James Harden impression on defense.#RingerNBA pic.twitter.com/AR6ueAeOtT
— The Ringer (@ringer) May 21, 2018
Paul can’t help shoulder load
Houston have no chance in this series if Harden and Chris Paul are going to both have off-games at the same time. In Game 3, Paul was the worst of the two and never looked fully comfortable attacking the Warriors’ defence. There would be times he got by his defender and into the lane, only to get stuck and have to pass it out. He’s shooting just 40.4 per cent overall and 25.0 per cent from deep in the series.
Chris Paul can’t shake Kevon Looney (he’s been sensational in the first half) pic.twitter.com/riRd3HqoDm
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) May 21, 2018
Kevon makes Houston go Looney
He won’t get much attention because the score was so lopsided and he played just over 15 minutes, but Kevon Looney was an absolute force defensively in Game 3. He doesn’t offer much spacing or offence on the other end, but his length, athleticism and effort made it hard for Houston players to score in the paint. Looney finished with a defensive rating of 69.3 points for the game and has a mark of 88.4 for the series.
Kevon Looney strong rejection to start the @warriors break!
— NBA (@NBA) May 21, 2018
All tied up at 22 in the opening frame on @NBAonTNT #DubNation pic.twitter.com/3dBM8vxQQ3
Turnovers are deadly
This isn’t exactly a revelation, but turning the ball over against Golden State is fatal. The Rockets experienced that first-hand when they lost possession 20 times, leading to 28 points for the Warriors. Dead-ball turnovers, like shot-clock violations, aren’t as killer as live-ball turnovers, but both kinds will obviously hurt you, especially in an environment like Oracle Arena.
