[1] Golden State Warriors 96-97 [8] Houston Rockets [Golden State leads series 2-1]
A cold blooded step back fade away jumper from James Harden with 2.7 seconds left on the game clock turned out to be the game-winner for the Houston Rockets, as Draymond Green committed a costly mistake by turning the ball over off of his foot on the next possession.
Harden finished with a near triple-double of 25 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds to give Houston the win and some much-needed life in the series. The Rockets’ front court of Dwight Howard (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Donatas Motiejunas (14 points, 13 rebounds) contributed with double-doubles to show for but from start to finish it was all Harden for the eighth-seeded Rockets.
Also read: 2016 NBA Playoffs: Spurs and Hawks take 2-0 lead with dominating home wins
Playing their first home game of the series, the Rockets’ started off strong outscoring the Warriors 31-18 in the first quarter. However Golden State, who were playing their second straight game without MVP Stephen Curry, grinded their way back to tie it with five minutes to go in the final period. Marreese Speights had a huge game of 22 points off the bench on 7 of 11 shooting.
Curry’s replacement in the starting line-up, Shaun Livingston did his bit scoring 16 points, grabbing 5 rebounds to go along with 3 assists and 3 steals. It’s true that Houston played their opponents on Thursday night but it was marginal. The Warriors’ 14 turnovers and 29% shooting from beyond the arc also had a lot to do with their loss.
Game 4 will be played at the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday.
[3] Oklahoma City Thunder 131-102 [6] Dallas Mavericks [Oklahoma City leads series 2-1]
After the embarrassing loss to the Mavericks in Game 2, the Oklahoma City Thunder came into Dallas looking to regain some confidence in themselves and also the home court advantage for the series. Kevin Durant (34 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) and Russell Westbrook (26 points, 15 assists) combined for 93 of the Thunder’s 131 points to put up a beat down on the Mavericks, drubbing them by 29 points this time around.
Durant bounced back nicely from a rough shooting in Game 2 but it wasn’t just him and Westbrook that shone in Game 3. Power Forward Serge Ibaka poured in 16 points and swatted away two shots. Off the bench, Enes Kanter had 21 points on 6 of 7 shooting and Dion Waiters had 19 on 7 of 11 shooting.
There was nothing tragically wrong that Dallas had done. They just struggled all game to control and then keep up with the Thunder’s offence. Oklahoma City shot 57.7% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc while Dallas 47.4% and 26.1% respectively.
For the Mavericks, five players scored in double figures led by shooting guard Wesley Matthews’ 22 points. JJ Barea’s (15 points, 7 assists) return made no difference to the result of the game as the OKC just run over Dallas.
Game 4 will be played in Dallas at the American Airlines Center on Saturday.
[2] Toronto Raptors 101-85 [7] Indiana Pacers [Toronto leads series 2-1]
Since losing Game 1 at home for the third straight year in the Playoffs, the Raptors have bounced back to take the lead in the series. Toronto regained homecourt advantage for the series with a clinical 16 point win on the road. The last two games, the Pacers have lost by an average margin of 13.5 points.
Lowry and DeRozan combined for 42 points and 11 assists on the night to lead their team to the win. For the opponents, Paul George had a good stat line of 25 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists on a bad shooting night of 6-19. Indiana with its 17 turnovers (Toronto-11) and sub-par shooting from the field (38.2% and 29.1% from 3) just couldn’t compete with the Raptors.
Toronto started the game strong leading by seven after the first quarter and then headed into the locker room with a lead of 17, their largest ever in a road Playoff game at the half. In Game 3, the Raps looked a lot like the dominant 56 win team that they had showcased for the league in the regular season.
Game 4 will be played on Saturday at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana.
