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This game almost seemed trivial in the grand scheme of things for the Spurs, following the death of Erin Popovich, but they tried their best and it wasn't enough.
The Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs for the 11th time in their last 12 meetings, to go up 3-0 in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, to all but book their place in the Conference Semi-Finals. Game 3 followed the script of the first 2 games, as San Antonio hung in there for much of the night, only for the Warriors to eventually pull away to seal the deal.
Here are the five biggest takeaways from the game:
#5 Kevin Durant leads the way
Kevin Durant balled out with 26 points, 6 assists, and 9 rebounds as the Spurs had no answer for him once again. Durant scored 17 in the first half to pace the Warriors in a back-and-forth 1st half. He also hit some big shots in the 3rd quarter as Golden State began pulling away from San Antonio.
He had plenty of help too, as Klay Thompson had 19 points and Shaun Livingston scored 16. All in all, 6 Warriors scored in double figures in a balanced effort as they once again shot over 50% from the field as a team, for the 3rd time in a row. The questions leading up to the playoffs regarding whether Durant can win without Steph Curry have been answered and expect the Golden State machine to roll on to the Conference Finals even if he's not around.
#4 LaMarcus Aldridge needs to be more aggressive
The Jekyll and Hyde persona of LaMarcus Aldridge continues to baffle. He put up a putrid performance in Game 1 and then followed it up with an incredible display in Game 2, only to disappoint in Game 3. Aldridge had 18 points and 10 rebounds which is a decent stat line but the Spurs need more and it wasn't like he was struggling. Aldridge took only 10 shots and was passive for most of the game. He only took 2 in the 4th quarter and made both, which makes you wonder why he wasn't more aggressive down the stretch.
This was a close game for much of 3 quarters and it might have been a different story had Aldridge been more assertive. If San Antonio is to win a game this series, we need to see the Game 2 version of LaMarcus in Game 4. He might well do that considering he seems to show up in alternate games.
#3 Spurs just don't have the firepower
I wouldn't put all the blame on him (Aldridge) of course. The Spurs just don't have enough as a whole to beat this Warriors team. Patty Mills scored 14 and Tony Parker played one of his better games in quite some time as he had 16 but that was it. Rudy Gay had 10 at the half but scored just one more point in the 2nd. No one else did anything particular of note. Danny Green struggled and so did Manu Ginobili, who failed to score a single point.
Some credit does go to the Golden State defense, but they're not this good. San Antonio has failed to hit the 100 point mark twice in this series and just about managed to score 101 in Game 2. It also doesn't help that their 3 point shooting has gone off the boil completely. After shooting 14% from 3 in Game 2, they shot 21% in Game 3, going 7/33 and 2 of them came in garbage time.
Scoring has been a problem for San Antonio all season, ranking 27th in the league in points scored and it has reared its ugly head in this series.
#2 This series is all but over
I expected this one to go 6 games, but the Spurs have no shot really. Golden State has taken it up a notch in the playoffs, while the Spurs role players have come up short. San Antonio has hung in, in all 3 games but they just don't have enough down the stretch. This was probably the game they were most likely to win, as the Warriors shot just 10/32 from 3, but their own putrid 3 point shooting ensured that wouldn't happen. Don't expect back-to-back bad 3 point shooting games for Golden State.
While scoring has been an issue for San Antonio all season, they have been able to hang their hats on their defense (least points allowed), but that's not been the case this series. Golden State has shot the ball with remarkable efficiency, shooting above 50% from the field in all 3 games, countering any defensive schemes thrown at them with relative ease.
Expect the trend to continue in Game 4.
#1 Unless Durant's injury is serious
The biggest talking point from this game was Kevin Durant's injured ankle. He rolled it with about 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter and while he got up and walked off by himself to the bench, he went to the locker room soon after. The injury didn't seem too serious, but should he miss any time, San Antonio will extend this series. To make matters worse for Golden State, Shaun Livingston went down with a tweaked ankle right after Durant and he also had to be taken to the locker room.
With Curry already out, the Warriors cannot afford to be without KD for any stretch of time. He did say post game that he was fine and should play in Game 4, but the ankle tends to stiffen up the following day so we'll have to wait and watch.
If he's back at a 100%, expect this series to end in a sweep.
Guess the Lakers players!
