Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forwards Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson during overtime in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the Smoothie King Center on Thursday. The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 123-119 in overtime.
Agencies/Los Angeles
Stephen Curry fired in 40 points, including the game-tying triple with 2.8 seconds left in regulation, and the visiting Warriors stormed from 20 down in the fourth quarter to stun the New Orleans Pelicans with a thrilling 123-119 overtime victory on Thursday for a commanding 3-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Behind Curry’s heroics, the top-seeded Warriors overcame the third largest fourth-quarter deficit in NBA playoff history.
“We’re a resilient, stubborn basketball team that’s come back all season long,” Curry said. “We don’t want to be down by 20 in the playoffs ever again. We’re a never-say-die group and got the win.”
The Warriors can close out the series in game 4 Saturday night in New Orleans.
“We knew this was the biggest game of the series so far,” Curry added. “We wanted to take the life out of the arena and go up 3-0. We got that done now we’ll look to finish the job on Saturday.”
Klay Thompson had 28 points and Draymond Green grabbed 17 boards for the Warriors, who trailed 89-69 after three quarters, but outscored their hosts 39-19 in the final 12 minutes.
“I was really disappointed with their play for three quarters. We had nothing going,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I didn’t recognize the team that was out there. But they have a competitive spirit. It was a miracle we had another chance.”
Trailing by three, Curry missed his first triple attempt. Marreese Speight grabbed the rebound and found Curry, who buried the off-balance three-pointer to knot the contest at 108 as two defenders rushed him.
“Mo Speights made a huge play to grab of the miss,” Curry said. “He saw me relocate to left corner. Thankfully, I got it off quick enough to knock it down.”
Curry splashed down his seventh triple and Harrison Barnes followed with another to open the extra session. The Pelicans had a shot to tie it at 121 in the final seconds but Anthony Davis missed a tough drive and Curry made two free throws to complete the comeback.
“Steph’s confidence level is off the charts,” Kerr said. “He’s relentless; he wants all the big shots. That’s why he’s Stephen Curry.”
Davis had 29 points and 15 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Pelicans, who received 26 points from Ryan Anderson.
“That was a game obviously we all thought we were going to win,” Anderson said. “But that’s a team you can’t count out of a game until the buzzer goes off in the fourth quarter.”
The Pelicans will look to avoid a sweep but no team has ever come back to win a series after trailing 3-0.
“We’ve been resilient all season and we’re not giving up anytime soon,” Anderson added. “This was a tough one but it’s something that fuels us for the next game.”
Elsewhere, LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers moved to within one win of advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 103-95 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
James finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds for the second seeded Cavaliers, who took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series. No NBA team has ever lost a series after winning the first three contests.
“I just try to do a little bit of everything,” James said. “Whatever it takes for my team to win. I want to be part of it.”
In the other East game Thursday, Derrick Rose scored a season-high 34 points with eight assists and five rebounds and help the Chicago Bulls take a 3-0 lead with a 113-106 double-overtime win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kevin Love, who is playing in his first career post-season, had his best game of the series so far for Cleveland.
Love tallied 23 points and nine rebounds and hit a couple of key three pointers late in the contest. He made a half a dozen three-pointers, including two in the final two and a half minutes, as the Celtics attempted to claw their way back into the game.
Love had 12 points in the first half after scoring 13 in game two, which the Cavs won 99-91 on Tuesday.
“Kevin has been great overall,” said Cleveland coach David Blatt.
“He didn’t score as much in the second game as he did tonight, but he’s been engaged. I haven’t seen any nervousness and discomfort since the series began.”
J R Smith scored 15 points, Kyrie Irving scored 13 and Tristan Thompson had 12 in the victory.
Evan Turner paced the Celtics’ attack with 19 points while Avery Bradley scored 18 and Jae Crowder came off the bench to score 16.
The Cavaliers can close out the series sweep against the seventh-seeded Celtics with another win on Sunday in Boston. The winner of this series advances to play either the Bulls or the Bucks.
Just like the Cavaliers, history will be on the Bulls’ side in game four. Rose, who was held scoreless in the first half of game two and finished with 15 points, led a 12-0 run to open the second overtime period.
“It’s an honour to even be in the playoffs, let alone be up 3-0,” Rose said. “We’re playing against a hungry team, a young team that is pushing us. That’s why you gotta love the playoffs because every game is different.”
